Re: retired soldiers and ex classmates back the honor of gudani

pursue FG links in poll fraud
GLORIA, AFP HAVE NO CASE VS GUDANI, BALUTAN — BIAZON

By Angie M. Rosales
Friday, 09 30, 2005



A double whammy hit President Arroyo yesterday as her spouse and his
alleged illegal poll activities will be the focus in the next Senate
probe on wiretapping, and worse, despite her gag order, no break in the
chain of command was committed by the two military officers who had
testified before the chamber.

Even as Malacañang pronounces the Senate investigations to be in aid of
destabilization and has already issued the gag order on all government
officials in the executive department, including the military and
police, the Senate will pursue these probes, and has vowed to hold more
hearings whose thrust will be the links of First Gentleman Jose Miguel
“Mike” Arroyo in bankrolling the presidential poll fraud, following the
disclosure of a general, in executive session, of yet another witness
who could be tapped to testify on the matter.

It was also discovered yesterday that neither Malacañang nor the Armed
Forces of the Philippines has any case of court martial against Brig.
Gen. Francisco Gudani and Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan on the charge that
they had disobeyed the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, or breaking
the chain of command.

The setbacks struck Malacañang a day after the two military officials
testified before the Senate committee on national defense and security
on the validity of the wiretapped conversations of Mrs. Arroyo as well
as the alleged involvement of four generals in the purported poll fraud
scheme to ensure her victory over the opposition's presidential
candidate, the now late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, a Marine and a former military chief of staff, who
also sits as chairman of the defense panel probing the wiretapping and
poll fraud cases, during an exclusive interview with the Tribune,
disclosed he had personally witnessed Malacanang's last-ditch attempt
to muzzle Gudani and Batulan through an emissary, while serving the
“notice” on the alleged “direct orders” from the military banning the
two military officers from appearing before the senators without Mrs.
Arroyo's approval just minutes before the hearing last Wednesday
morning.

“I witnessed it (the memo) being handed over to Gudani and Balutan...
it was being carried out right in front of me, right in this office,”
Biazon said, referring to his room on the fifth floor of the Senate
building in Pasay City where the two proceeded before attending the
public hearing.

“At the time, they (Gudani and Balutan) were already considered as
being under Senate custody,” he added, stressing that the incident took
place around 9:30 a.m., just 30 minutes before the scheduled hearing to
be held in one of the function rooms on the second floor.

It was Military Legislative Liaison Officer Cmdr. Amable Tolentino,
Biazon pointed out, who tried to serve the notice to the two military
officers whom he had chanced upon while killing time at the senator's
office.

The “notice” being referred to is not even a formal one as it came in
the form of a radio message sent by the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) headquarters, addressed not directly to the two but to Gudani's
chief at the Philippine Military Academy.

The “AFP message form” Biazon produced showed that the drafter's name
is Maj. Aronito Aaron, who was then senior duty officer and Col. Andres
Corpus Jr., command duty officer, who effected the release.

It appears that the message sent out around lunch time the day before
the hearing failed to get through Gudani and Balutan, which was the
reason the AFP had to dispatch Tolentino at the last minute.

Gudani made mention of the gag order in his sworn affidavit but the
military officer said such cannot be considered a direct order as it
was in the form of a general statement, not to mention the fact that
the instructions came from a lower-rank officer.

Biazon echoed Gudani's arguments and due to this technicality,
Malacañang cannot make a case out of their appearance in the hearing
due to failure to serve the notice.

The senator said it is also why he kept on raising the issue of the
executive and the legislative clashing as careful study of the incident
along with subsequent actions of the Palace would only end up in what
he called as “institutional confrontation.”

“I don't want to say this in public because this incident could create
a full-blown constitutional crisis... What do they think of us here? Do
they think that they can stop the hearing just like that? That to me is
a challenge by one branch of government to a co-equal branch,” he
added.

Biazon further revealed that while Gudani was in the middle of his
testimony, another military officer whom he failed to identify but who
was sitting behind the latter at the hearing kept on handing over a
mobile phone to show a text message that they later on learned came
from AFP Chief of Staff Generoso Senga.

Gudani, however, would not take the mobile phone, as he appeared not to
have wanted being interrupted in making his statements. It was not
immediately known if the unidentified officer accompanied them to the
hearing.

Senga was allegedly still trying to stop Gudani from continuing his
testimony right then and there as the proceedings were being fed live
over radio and television stations.

”This is the first time this happened. Can a bureau chief stop it
(hearing) as the Constitution clearly provides that only department
heads, without approval of the President, can be prohibited from
appearing in any congressional hearings. Can that be done?” Biazon
asked.

In narrating the incident involving Tolentino, the senator, who frowned
on the apparent disrespect to his authority over the two “witnesses,”
said he asked Gudani and Balutan if they would opt to continue with
their decision to appear in the hearing.

“I told them that if they would do so, they only have to tell the truth
and I asked them, 'Do you realize the consequences that you might have
to face later on? and they said yes,” he told the Tribune.

Opposition Sen. Sergio Osmena III, during a separate interview, said
Gudani merely received a text message from Senga, not a direct order,
personally or orally.

“It was so informal. I would also have some apprehensions because how
can I be sure that indeed it came from my superior?” Osmena asked.

“EO (Executive Order) 464 is not the reason they can court- martial
him. He received allegedly a direct order by text from Senga not to
appear and not to testify. However, under the law, an order is only
valid when you receive a written copy.

“That's why he proceeded with his testimony. There's going to be a
debate there on whether he actually received a valid order,” he said.

Among the highlights of Gudani's revelations was the supposed delivery
of some P500 million by Mr. Arroyo himself to Mindanao, witnessed
supposedly by his friend along with the stuffing of the bundles of peso
bills in two boxes before the presidential spouse boarded a helicopter.

Mr. Arroyo, allegedly made two flights, each delivering P250 million,
at the height of the canvassing period last year.

Osmeña said while Malacañang is trying to downplay the information as
being hearsay, it would be put to a test as they are out to lure the
eyewitness into coming out in the open.

“That is correct, that was hearsay. But he (Gudani) furnished us with a
name (during the executive session) and when we talk to that person,
it's not hearsay anymore. It will be direct knowledge already,” he
pointed out.

“We will not use the subpoena power. We will talk to him nicely. I
don't want to speculate how the (committee chairman) will approach this
issue or sub-issue,” Osmena said.

He expressed belief that the legal custody being afforded to the two
military officers would be enough to shield them from any court-martial
proceedings.

“As far as I'm concerned, the Senate had asked him to testify, he
testified under certain assurances of immunity that whatever he says
will not be used against him in any court of law and in any other
criminal or civil proceedings. He's under the custody of the Senate and
he enjoys a certain immunity up to what he said,” Osmena said.

The senator added “it's part of a cover-up, of course. What possible
reason does anybody have for telling everybody in government not to
talk about anything that occurred during the campaign except to cover
up?”

When asked if Malacañang can use the issue of “executive privilege,”
the senator replied, “Of course, when somebody talks to you and tells
you to protect her post, that's executive privilege right?”

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