Magdalo leader is 'surprise witness' in gov't coup video

Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala, one of the detained leaders of the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, turned out to be the “surprise witness" in a government-produced video documentary that alleged collusion between communist rebels and renegade military officers in a plot to “seize power". In the 15-minute documentary titled Sabwatan sa Katiksalan (Conspiracy to Betrayal), Gambala called on fellow soldiers to end plotting against the government, even as he confirmed reports New People’s Army has been trying to forge an alliance with disgruntled elements of the military. "(The approached us to talk about building an alliance with them in an effort to seize power," Gambala said. Gambala was among the top leaders of the Magdalo group of soldiers that briefly seized the Oakwood hotel in Makati in July 2003 in protest of alleged corruption in the military and the government. He remains in detention and under trial but has apologized to President Arroyo and swore to follow the chain of command. "You know who are our enemies, you know who are our allies. It's for you to decide but as for me, I've been there," Gambala said in the 15-minute documentary. "As I've always been saying, there are certain things that we can't learn, you have to experience it before you (can) understand." "I've understood it, so I don't want to go through what I have gone through because I know it is wrong," he said, in expressing regret for leading the failed Oakwood mutiny in July 2003. In the documentary, government warned that recruitment is still ongoing for a last-ditch attempt at power grab on May 1. Dubbed “Oplan 4G," a revolt similar to Edsa 1 will be staged, which would be held simultaneously with a military uprising just like the bloody 1989 coup. The plot allegedly involves taking over progressive areas in the provinces such as provincial capitols in Mindanao, and moving towards the center of power. The Oplan 4G plans were supposedly confiscated from a member of the “Para sa Bayan" (PSB), a group of soldiers from the AFP elite forces and retired military officers who were linked to the failed coups under the Aquino administration. It is the second documentary produced by the government since an alleged aborted coup in February 24 and a week-long state of national emergency. In attendance at the showing of the documentary in Malacanang were Navy chief Vice Adm. Mateo Mayuga, Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Jose Reyes, Army Support Command head Maj. Gen. Ricardo Brilliantes, and Chief Supt. Emmanuel Carta, head of the Philippine National Police's (PNP) Directorate of Police Community Relations. According to the documentary, the rightist-leftist alliance was slowly forged in the aftermath of the Oakwood Mutiny and it came to a point where CPP-NPA spokesman Gregorio Rosal alias Ka Roger ordered the reactivation of the Lt. Crispin Tagamolila Command. Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga in the documentary said Tagamolila was a finance officer in the Army who defected to the NPA in March 29, 1971 and was killed fighting government troops in April the following year. The NPA created a unit in his honor. The documentary said a series of clandestine meetings, led by former senator and suspected coup plotter Gregorio Honasan were held from 2003 to 2006 in different hotels and restaurants in Metro Manila. In 2004, the name Magdalo was changed to Makabayang Kawal Pilipino and Makabayang Kaisa sa Pakikibaka (MKP). Several attempts would be made to oust the Arroyo government from February until up to Labor Day on May 1, it said. Based on documents seized from Lt. Lawrence San Juan, another Magdalo leader who was recently captured, three proclamations would be issued once the rightist-leftist coup plotters are in power. The first proclamation would be to declare a state of emergency "because of alleged violations in the rule of law and lack of trust in public institutions," to invalidate the results of the May 2004 elections, and shutting down Congress and the Judiciary. The second proclamation would amend the Constitution, and the third would put in place a transition government where a new "president" would be appointed. According to the documentary, both the rightist soldiers and communist rebels have not yet agreed whom to install as "president." It said the long-term agenda of the CPP-NPA is to use the military to overthrow the government with the communists taking full power in the end. PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao in the documentary said the coup plot did not succeed as President Arroyo declared Proclamation 1017 declaring a state of national emergency last February 24. The controversial proclamation was lifted a week later following strong protests from lawmakers and the media.-GMANews.TV