CA acquits 2 officers in Oakwood mutiny case

From the Business Mirror (Apr 3): CA acquits 2 officers in Oakwood mutiny case
 

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has acquitted of coup d’état charges two military officials who participated in the June 27, 2003, failed Oakwood mutiny, saying that what they did “was a valid and legitimate exercise of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.”

In a 21-page decision written by Associate Justice Victoria Isabel Paredes, the CA’s Ninth Division reversed the decision of Branch 48 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Makati City that found 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan and 1Lt. Rex Bolo guilty of the crime of coup d’état and sentencing them from six to 12 years’ imprisonment.

San Juan and Bolo were not among the military officers belonging to the Magdalo group who applied for and were granted amnesty during the Arroyo and Aquino administrations.

In exonerating the two military officers, the CA gave credence to their arguments that the prosecution failed to prove the presence of all the elements of coup d’état and that their constitutional right to equal protection was violated when Sen. Gregorio Honasan II was exonerated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and they were not.

Honasan allegedly instigated the young military officers to launch the mutiny.

San Juan also argued that the denial by the trial court of his plea bargain of pleading guilty to the crime of conspiracy to commit coup d’état, which was denied by the RTC, does not automatically prove that the crime of coup d’état was committed.

The CA noted that the third and fourth elements of the crime of coup d’état were not present in the case.

The third element requires that the attack be “directed against duly constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines or any military camp or installation, communication networks, public utilities or other facilities needed for the exercise and continued possession of power.”

It noted not Oakwood Premier Hotel (now Ascott Makati) is a first-class hotel, in the commerial district of Makati City.

“It is not a military camp or installation, not a form of communication network, not a public utility or a facility needed for the exercise and continued possession of power,” the CA ruled.

Likewise, the CA said the fourth element, which requires “that the purpose of the attack is to seize or diminish state power,” is also absent. 

“Moreover, the trial court itself found that the accused only called for the resignation of then-President  Arroyo and other key officials of the government.

“The trial court failed to point out in the assailed decision any showing that the appellant, indeed, planned to arrogate state power upon themselves or diminish state power,” the CA ruled.

The CA said that the actions of the two soldiers can be considered as a valid exercise of their right to freedom of speech and expression. 

It can be recalled that on June 27, 2003, more than 300 junior military officers and men took over the Oakwood Premier Hotel in Makati City to air their grievances against the Arroyo administration.

The mutineers eventually surrendered and were charged with the crime of coup d’état that is penalized under Article 135 of the Revised Penal Code.

After conducting a preliminary investigation on the case, the DOJ issued a resolution on October 30, 2003, finding probable cause to indict 31 out of the 300 original accused for the crime, including San Juan and Bolo.

Some of the Magdalo soldiers were granted conditional pardon by Arroyo under General Order 10 dated May 12, 2008, while others benefited from Proclamation 75, issued by President Aquino, granting amnesty to active and former military and police personnel who participated in the Oakwood mutiny, the Marines standoff at Fort Bonifacio in 2006 and the Manila Peninsula incident in 2007.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/ca-acquits-2-officers-in-oakwood-mutiny-case/