5 Army 'plotters' hurt in mishap on way to hearing

Five officers of the elite First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) held for their alleged involvement in the botched February coup were hurt in a road accident while being transported to appear before a justice department investigation, the lawyer of one of the officers said on Wednesday. Lawyer Alexis Avisado identified the five Scout Ranger officers as Major Leomar Doctolero, whom he is defending in a number of cases, Lieutenant Colonels Nestor Malabanjot and Edmundo Flordeliza, and Majors Jason Aquino and Oriel Pangcog. Avisado said the five officers, handcuffed to the posts of an Army truck, were being transported to the Department of Justice (DOJ) office in Manila to face preliminary investigation for rebellion when their vehicle figured in an accident with a sports utility vehicle and a taxi cab along EDSA in Makati at about 10:15 a.m. The officers did not make it to the DOJ investigation, said Avisado, adding that the officers lay injured at the highway for at least two hours until another Army vehicle fetched them. Avisado said Doctolero's was broken and his client had to pay for his medicine since his military escorts refused to bring him to a hospital due to lack of clearance from their superiors. "He (Doctolero) broke his right arm. The others suffered minor contusions (bruises) on their heads since they were handcuffed to the posts," Avisado said. "The problem was, since they were already late, the driver of the Army truck drove like hell in a vain attempt to reach Padre Faura (in Manila where the DOJ is located) from Tanay, Rizal," he added. Army spokesman Major Ernesto Torres confirmed the road mishap but said that based on an incident report submitted to Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, the coup plotters were not injured. Torres later admitted in a text message that Doctolero suffered "bruises" on his arm. "Major Doctolero suffered an arm injury which was treated in the military ambulance with the convoy. Other than him, no one was injured," he said. The five officers, along with over a dozen other Army officers, linked to the failed coup are detained in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. Thirteen other Marine officers also linked to the plot are detained at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio and at a Navy jail facility in Cavite City. Avisado said the five FSRR officers were escorted out of Camp Capinpin late because their guards were "confused with several conflicting orders." The one-hour hearing at the DOJ was supposed to start 10 a.m. The coup plotters led by former Scout Ranger commander Brigadier General Danilo Lim reportedly planned to join the anti-government protest at the Edsa Shrine last Feb. 24 and subsequently withdraw their support from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Apart from the rebellion case, the officers are facing possible charges of violation of several provisions of the Articles of War, including attempting to begin or create mutiny, before a military tribunal. Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has said he would decide on Nov. 21 whether he will convene a general court martial that will try the officers. Earlier, military investigators recommended to Esperon the trial of the officers. -GMANews.TV