SENATOR AND FORMER COUP PLOTTER WALKS OUT OF COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANILA 003797 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2017 TAGS: CASC MARR MCAP PREL RP MASS SUBJECT: SENATOR AND FORMER COUP PLOTTER WALKS OUT OF COURT PROCEEDINGS IN PROTEST REF: MANILA 2156 (COUP PLOTTER IN PHILIPPINE SENATE) Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Senator Antonio Trillanes, a former military officer on trial for his role in leading the failed July 2003 Oakwood Mutiny against the Philippine government, and Brigadier General Danilo Lim, organizer of the February 2006 failed coup attempt, walked out of court proceedings in the Makati Regional Court in Metro Manila at approximately 11 a.m. on November 29 with other accused mutineers, generating a flurry of media coverage over the possibility of another coup. Trillanes and his supporters, dubbed the Magdalo soldiers, along with Lim, walked a few blocks in the affluent Manila suburb of Makati and then conducted a brief impromptu press conference at the Manila Peninsula hotel in which they called for President Gloria Arroyo to step down. Trailed by military police, the group was unable to generate a crowd of more than about 100 persons. Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have told the Embassy they are coordinating closely, and President Arroyo has ordered the group to be rearrested. Ambassador Kenney has spoken with President Arroyo to assure her of U.S. support for the Philippine constitution and rule of law and convey our view that the situation be resolved peacefully with the cases handled by the Philippine legal process as stipulated by the constitution. As will be reported in septel, the Embassy convened an Emergency Action Committee. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On the eve of Bonifacio Day, the Philippine holiday commemorating Andres Bonifacio, a national hero who advocated armed insurrection against the Spanish, accused mutineer Senator Antonio Trillanes walked out of the Makati Regional Court in Metro Manila on November 29, along with a dozen other soldiers on trial for their role in the 2003 failed Oakwood Mutiny. Also with Trillanes was Brigadier General Danilo Lim, on trial for his role in organizing the failed February 2006 coup launched from the Philippine Marine headquarters in Manila. Although Lim and the Magdalo soldiers are on trial for their role in the coups, they were at the hearing at the request of Trillanes, who had asked they be allowed to testify on his behalf. Initial press reports said that Trillanes had been led out of the court by a group of armed followers in uniform. However, it appears the media confused the military police assigned to escort Trillanes with the other indicted mutineers who were in uniform and left with Trillanes. Following standing orders, the military police trailed Trillanes, Lim, and the others until they reached a cordon of Philippine National Police, at which point the police assumed responsibility for the security situation. Entering the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati, Trillanes and Lim conducted an impromptu press conference, detailing a litany of alleged abuses by the Arroyo administration and calling for the President to step down. ¶3. (C) Upon hearing the news of the walkout, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo returned from a provincial trip and convened an emergency cabinet meeting, vowing to rearrest Trillanes and the others. Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro issued a statement saying the government would "apply the full force of the law to rearrest the escapees and punish those involved." Despite Trillanes having stated that he would use his position in the Senate to bring about Arroyo's impeachment, some in the administration had indicated earlier in the year that there was a high probability the President would grant political "amnesty" -- before convictions -- to Trillanes (reftel). That now seems unlikely given his call for Arroyo's resignation. Following his initial arrest for treason after the Oakwood incident, Trillanes ran for Senate while in custody, winning a seat in ¶2007. Despite being recognized as a senator, he has not been allowed to take his seat since he is still on trial and in custody. ¶4. (C) Throughout the incident, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police have displayed close cooperation. Immediately after Trillanes left the courthouse, National Police Director Avelino Razon said that he had spoken to Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines General Hermogenes Esperon and they were coordinating their response to Trillanes' actions as directed by President Arroyo. Philippine National Capitol Region Police Chief Geary Barias is the on-scene commander and the armed forces are in the process of surrounding the hotel. As a precaution against any unauthorized troop movements, the Armed Forces/Police joint special unit is manning a checkpoint on the expressway south of Manila. Philippine authorities have ordered guests to evacuate the hotel and have secured the area around the Peninsula hotel as they make preparations to rearrest Trillanes, Lim, and the Madgalo soldiers. American citizens have been relocated to nearby hotels. ¶5. (C) At 3 p.m., General Barias attempted to serve an arrest warrant to Trillanes on the second floor of the hotel. Armed, plainclothes supporters of Trillanes rebuffed Berias and said that if he tried to take Trillanes into custody, there would be gunfire. Philippine police sources have said they are prepared for that contingency, but want to resolve the situation peacefully. Ambassador Kenney has spoken with President Arroyo to assure her of U.S. support for the constitution and rule of law and of our view that the situation be resolved peacefully with the cases handled by the Philippine legal process as stipulated by the constitution. As reported in septel, the Embassy convened an Emergency Action Committee on the issue and is monitoring the situation as it pertains to American citizens. Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/ KENNEY