PALACE LIST: AMNESTY OR AMNESIA? SENATORS DISGUSTED AND AMUSED
[PHOTO - SENATOR GREGORIO HONASAN]
MANILA, DECEMBER 7, 2010 (BULLETIN) By MARIO B. CASAYURAN and GENALYN D. KABILING - After a long lull, Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan has found himself embroiled anew in the middle of a coup controversy.
On Monday, his name, along with some Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) personalities, appeared in a list of those likely to be granted amnesty by the Aquino administration for their alleged involvement in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the 2006 Marines standoff, and the 2007 Peninsula Manila Hotel siege – a development that drew both disgust and amusement among senators.
Because of this development, the Senate Committee on Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation deferred anew its hearing on the amnesty grant until Malacañang can submit a comprehensive list that is acceptable and until they can put their acts together.
"I am expressing my extreme disappointment in the Executive Branch in the way they did their work. It showed no comprehensive review of the list they gave. I will wait (for the list) and wait and wait until the chair is furnished with a comprehensive list that has rhyme and reason," Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, committee chairman, told the government panel of resource speakers led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.
"The list is not all encompassing. But why include Senator Honasan and CPP/NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army) in the Marine standoff?" Guingona asked during a press briefing after the abbreviated public hearing on the reworded Amnesty Proclamation Order No. 75.
Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, a former Senate president who currently the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said the hearing was suspended because the list was "simply inaccurate."
Drilon did not hide his amusement that those to be covered by the amnesty in the Marine standoff included Senator Honasan, Pastor Saycon (one of those closely identified with former President Fidel V. Ramos), and former Ambassador Roy Señeres.
Like Guingona, Drilon said the "AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) must "put its act together."
"Does that mean the NDF and CPP personalities availed of the amnesty? I don't think that was the intention," Drilon said.
No blunder
But Malacañang said it did not commit any blunder in including Sen. Honasan in the list of possible applicants for amnesty.
Deputy Executive Secretary Jose Amor Amorado said Honasan is among the people listed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) due to a pending case against him on suspected involvement in the Marine standoff in 2006.
If the senator doesn't apply for amnesty and the case against him prospers, Amorado said the senator would have to face the charges in court.
"As far as the Office of the Executive Secretary is concerned, I don't think we committed any mistake in the submission of the list. The list that was submitted came from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), DND (Department of National Defense), and DoJ," Amorado told reporters in the Palace after Honasan complained about his inclusion in the list of persons who can avail of the amnesty granted by President Aquino.
Amorado said Honasan, Saycon, Señeres, and other personalities from the local communist group were charged before the DoJ in connection with the Marine standoff. To date, the case against Honasan and others is still pending preliminary investigation, he said.
"So if you have a pending case regarding any of these three incidents, then we take it that you are a possible applicant. Now, possible applicant meaning that it is not necessary that you really apply. It's up to you if you will apply for amnesty or not," he said.
Amorado disputed claims of Honasan that his inclusion in the list of amnesty beneficiaries was malicious and irresponsible, saying the Palace merely obtained the list from the DoJ.
"Based on the list of the Department of Justice, it is our stand that Senator Honasan is a possible applicant. He may or may not apply," he added.
Politically motivated
Honasan dubbed as "politically motivated" his inclusion in the list of potential beneficiaries of Proclamation No. 75 granting amnesty to those in the active service or former members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and their supporters in several coup attempts against the Arroyo administration.
Honasan said his inclusion in the list of potential amnesty beneficiaries was to neutralize him and others who are speaking out against corruption, inefficiency, and bad governance.
He, however, was quick to point out that "this is not the responsibility of any single administration."
Sen. Loren Legarda sided with Honasan when she insisted that government authorities must carefully check and update its list, stressing that "let us not be cavalier about it, they must do their staff work as the dead might have been in that list."
Legarda said the Malacañang list has made it a laughing stock.
She stressed that "lives and freedoms of people" are affected by the erroneous list.
Asked on who could have made that list, Honasan replied: "Maybe it's all of the above, an irresponsible, inefficient (as) there is no legal defense against an irresponsible report," he said.
The former Army colonel who helped topple the Marcos regime said he is convinced that his inclusion in the list is politically motivated.
President Aquino is seeking congressional concurrence on a proclamation giving amnesty to soldiers and other people involved in the July, 2003 Oakwood mutiny, February, 2006 Marine standoff, and the November, 2007 siege at The Peninsula Manila Hotel.
Apart from the 50 people listed by the DoJ, the DND and the AFP also furnished a list of more than 300 possible beneficiaries of the amnesty grant.
Meantime, Amorado said Malacañang is confident that the amnesty proclamation would be passed by Congress before their holiday break.
He said they will submit to the Senate an "amplified list" of the amnesty beneficiaries to include the status of the cases of the persons involved.
"Even those who were not charged but believed they participated in any of these three incidents, they can also apply," he added.
Applicants of amnesty, however, must admit their guilt in joining the rebellions before their applications can be processed, according to Amorado. The DND is still finalizing the draft guidelines on the admission of guilt in exchange of the amnesty.
Amorado also admitted that detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was consulted in drafting the amnesty proclamation to get information on possible applicants and the status of their cases.
"We did not know then if there were other personalities who were not charged but who participated in the Oakwood mutiny. We would like to know from Senator Trillanes," he said.
The suspension by the Senate committee of its hearing on the presidential amnesty grant showed the continued failure of Malacañang to submit a clean and legal document for action by the Senate
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