Army clears ex-Scout Rangers chief of linking with CPP-NPA

The Army leadership on Friday cleared the former commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) of conspiring with the communist movement to remove President Arroyo from office. Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said retired senior officers – not Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim of the FSRR – linked up with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed faction, the New People’s Army (NPA). "I am not linking him or I'm not accusing him of having talked to members of the central committee (of the CPP) but I squarely divulge that some senior retired officers were talking to members of the central committee," Esperon said. Military officials released documents showing that retired officers Army Col. Jake Malajacan, Army Col. Rafael Galvez and Navy Capt. Felix Turingan got in touch with the rebels. All three retirees participated in failed coups against the Aquino administration in the 1980s. "They (retired officers) signed an agreement towards an alliance to overthrow the government and establish a transitional government. I repeat, I am not accusing general Lim of having talked to the central committee members," the Army chief added. An active Army officer implicated in the Oakwood mutiny, 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan, also supposedly instigated measures to form a leftist-rightist alliance. Lim and Marine Col. Ariel Querubin allegedly planned to join the protest march at the Edsa Shrine last Feb. 24. Military leaders, however, claimed that they preempted the plan by relieving Lim and placing him under restriction hours before the march. Shortly thereafter, President Arroyo placed the country under a state of national emergency through Proclamation 1017. She said a concerted destabilization threat by rebellious soldiers, communist rebels and opposition leaders prompted her to sign the declaration. 'FOR THE REDS' GAIN' For his part, Querubin was relieved from his post as commander of the 1st Marine Brigade on Feb.27, a day after he led servicemen in protesting the relief of their erstwhile commandant Major Gen. Renato Miranda. Esperon said that if Lim succeeded in their intentions to destabilize the government, "his actions would have benefited the long-term enemies of the state, the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army." Despite clearing Lim on conniving with rebels, Esperon refused to say that the former Scout Rangers commander masterminded the coup plot. He said, "I wish he (Lim) was not but the only question that I would ask him is had he marched on the streets with the rallyists, could he have acted according to his oath?" "Can he do that as a military officer? And if he does not know that it is a violation of his oath, then I fear that he might not know the effect of that, which is falling into the trap of the CPP/NPA towards destabilization or overthrow of the government," he added. The office of the Army's Inspector General has concluded its probe against Lim on possible violation of the Articles of War. The IG has submitted the results of the probe and its recommendation against Lim to Esperon last week.-GMANews.TV