Magdalo soldiers' rights violated, says lawyer

Military and police agents violated the rights of six arrested Magdalo junior officers when they were not allowed to seek legal counsel immediately after their capture, a lawyer for the soldiers claimed Friday. Lawyer Ruel Pulido, who represents three of the six arrested junior officers, said apparently his clients' "rights were not respected." "They had the right to a lawyer, but I was not contacted by my clients," Pulido said in Filipino in a series of radio interviews. Pulido is representing First Lieutenant Patricio Bumidang and Second Lieutenants Aldrin Baldonado and Angelbert Gay. As of posting hime, he has yet to get a call from any of the three soldiers. Pulido said his last contact with his clients was through Baldonado, with whom he had his last conversation on January 17, the same day four other Magdalo soldiers escaped from military detention in Fort Bonifacio. A joint team of police and military agents nabbed Bumidang, Baldonado, Gay, Army Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza, First Lieutenant Sonny Sarmiento and a certain Lieutenant Badava during a early Friday morning operation in Quezon City. The Magdalo group launched the failed Oakwood mutiny on July 27, 2003. Lawyer Christopher Belmonte and a certain Mike Yangson were also taken into custody. The six Magdalo soldiers had been allegedly renting a house at 34 Adler St., Filinvest 2 subdivision in Quezon City for the last three weeks. Village officials claimed they only learned the rented house was being used as a hideout of the Magdalo soldiers after they noticed men from the Philippine Army's Intelligence Service Group conducting surveillance operations on the site. Pulido was on his way to see his clients, who were taken from Camp Crame to the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.-GMANews.TV