4 more Oakwood mutineers escape

[qman]

hehehe sa lalaot dadali lahat na yan makakatakas.

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First posted 00:09am (Mla time) Jan 18, 2006
By Joel Francis Guinto
INQ7.net, Agence France-Presse



(3RD UPDATE) FOUR Army junior officers who joined a short-lived mutiny in 2003 escaped late Tuesday evening from a military prison, triggering a security alert, officials said.
First Lieutenants Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Sarmiento, Nathaniel Rabonza and Patricio Bumindang piled up chairs inside their detention cell at Fort Bonifacio and sneaked out of the windows at around 9 p.m., intelligence reports said.

“Yes, there was an escape,” Army Chief Lieutenant General Hermogenes Esperon said in a phone interview with reporters.

"They were found to be absent during an accounting for the night," Army spokesman Major Bartolome Bacarro said, adding that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been informed of the incident and has ordered a massive manhunt and a thorough investigation of what happened.

The jailbreak came a month after Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon, one of the leaders of the failed coup in Makati City, also outsmarted his escorts and fled while taking a break from a court hearing.

“They are now fugitives... Those liable for the escape will be sanctioned,” Bacarro told GMA Network's “Saksi” newscast, as he appealed to the public to help hunt down the escaped mutineers.

"The President has ordered the Philippine Army to exert all efforts to recapture the four officers," said Bacarro.

Army search teams and operatives have already fanned out across the capital and were in close coordination with the police, he said.

"We would like to forewarn the public that these fugitives are facing rebellion [charges] and could be dangerous," Bacarro said.

Metro Manila police chief Vidal Querol said road blocks had been ordered to prevent the fugitives from slipping out of the city.

Last December 14, Faeldon ran away after attending a hearing of his coup d'état case at the Makati regional trial court.

Before the four fled, Army officials tried to transfer them to a maximum detention cell also inside Fort Bonifacio, their lawyer, Roel Pulido said.

Pulido said he last saw the four soldiers at around 4 p.m. when he rushed to the military camp to oppose the transfer, which was not covered by a court order.

Pulido said he received news on the escape Tuesday evening, while he was drafting a petition for injunction on the transfer.

The escape comes amid political crisis and continuing efforts by the political opposition to oust Ms Arroyo over charges she cheated in the May 2004 elections.

Ms Arroyo, whose popularity has plunged, has admitted she called an elections officer and issued a public apology last year. She however has denied any wrongdoing even as some of her key allies have abandoned her.

She has been forced to repeatedly deny persistent reports of destabilization plots brewing against her in recent weeks.

Faeldon and the four who escaped Tuesday were among several junior officers who led some 300 men in taking over an apartment building that housed diplomats in Manila's financial district of Makati in 2003.

They accused the military top brass of corruption and Ms Arroyo of abetting it and called on her to step down so a junta could be established.

Their mutiny was crushed and the ringleaders put on stockade to face rebellion charges in civil and military courts. Ms Arroyo, however, subsequently freed the enlisted men, while the officers remained in detention.

The mutiny leaders in September made a public apology to Ms Arroyo, saying their actions were triggered by an "honest, though naïve, desire for change".

Ms Arroyo accepted their apology, suggesting they would be shown leniency. However, the ringleaders still face a court martial as well as civilian court hearings on separate charges of mounting a coup attempt.

[oldblue]

who cares di'ba?

extremist right/extremist left, no matter how principled or how moral their fight is , time to ignore them and go on with our lives as filipinos. dictatorship (rightist) or communism (leftist), it happened na sa world history and it failed. sa gitna lang talaga. it's like nature, balance lang. like capitalism hehehe

[explorer]

malamang himingi ng tip kay gringo paano mag-escape.

[creepy]

Dapat shoot-to-kill na ang order against Faeldon and the escaped mutineers. Faeldon, Trillanes et al are all real dumbolts with Messianic complexes. They would do best to serve the country by shooting themselves. WE DON'T NEED PEOPLE LIKE THEM.

All the people responsible for their custody should be court-martialed and dismissed immediately. They should not only be "relieved" from their positions and reassigned (as is the usual practice).

To the AFP leadership: ARREST THEIR GUARDS NOW. No more excuses!

This incident again reinforces the very accurate view that our prison system is an absolute joke !!

[chua_riwap]

Tatanga naman ng bantay nila! Considering na these 4 mutineers were "incarcerated" at Fort Bonifacio. It only proves na hindi lahat sa military, 100% loyal sa present command at sa administration. Ang tanong, bakit nangyari ito?

He-he! May kasama na si Faeldon. 5 na silang bibisita sa mga Military camps.

[XTO]

newer issue for the sake of older issues. what's new

[Isuzoom]

Kaya nga ng mga drug lords and criminals mag eskapo.. sila pa?

[Kanut]

once again,our mighty military has proven itself-----as the laughing stock of the world! :down:

[Belisarius]

Good for them, now GMA wont be so smug in dismissing coup rumours, this time it could be true, was in malacanang area yesterday, the guards are in full battle gear, takot nanaman si pandak, she is pissing in her panties.

[ranod55]

hindi na bago 'yang issue! ang tanong eh sila ba'y tumakas.pinatakas.o' iniligpit na???

[oldblue]

100% support sa administration or not ... it's all theatrics! if they really have infighting, then do it the American way, mag-cold war sila. kahit naman si Bush alam nya may mga US military na against sa kanya pero hindi ito ginagawang national issue ng America.