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The Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines on July 27, 2003. A group of 321 armed
soldiers who called themselves "Bagong Katipuneros"[1] (Filipino: New Katipuneros) led by
Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and Lt. Sg. Antonio Trillanes IV of the Philippine Navy took over
the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center (now Ascott Makati) serviced apartment tower in Makati to
show the Filipino people the alleged corruption of the Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo administration. They also stated that they saw signs suggesting that the President
was going to declare martial law.
The group was dubbed "Magdalo" by the press, in a reference to the insignia they adopted
during the incident—the perceived flag of the Magdalo faction of the Katipunan during
the Philippine Revolution. Sources conflict on whether the eight-rayed-sun version of the flag
was used by the Magdalo faction, the sixteen-rayed-sun version of the flag was used by
the Magdiwang faction, or vice versa.[2][3]
Background[edit]
According to the Fact Finding Commission created by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the
incidents leading to the mutiny were not spontaneous, but a mere alternative plan to an
overarching plot to overthrow the government.[4]
Contrary to the statement made by Trillanes before the Fact Finding Commission that the
takeover of Oakwood by the Magdalo Group was unplanned and spontaneous, the facts
gathered by the Commission show that extensive planning and preparations for several
months had preceded the events of July 27. There was the holding of gripe sessions among
soldiers sought to be recruited, the distribution and discussion of copies of the "National
Recovery Program" (NRP) of Senator Gregorio Honasan and a document entitled “The Last
Revolution”, bloodletting meetings and taking of an oath of loyalty by the recruits, the
purchase of flags, armbands, uniforms, backpacks, and other rebel paraphernalia, and
telecommunications equipment and vehicles, and so on.
From July to December 2002, rumors had been spreading that some military personnel were
inquiring about the grievances of members of the armed forces. Talks about recruitment from
the ranks of the discontented and potential rebels in the military were heard from former
members of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) and junior officers in the military.
These reports were relayed to Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus. It was later verified that a series of
secret meetings among junior officers in the military had taken place in various parts of the
country, in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Mindanao.
A bloodletting ritual took place on June 4, 2003 in a house in San Juan, Metro Manila.
Honasan allegedly presided over this occasion with junior officers of the AFP. At this
meeting, Honasan discussed the NRP which sets forth his platform of Government, and the
document entitled “The Last Revolution” which emphasizes that the only means to achieve
that platform or vision is through the use of force, violence, or armed struggle because
incumbent officials will not give up their positions voluntarily. The bloodletting rite was
administered to those who agreed to be part of the Magdalo group. To carry out the
bloodletting rite, he provided special knives and showed the participants how to inscribe the
letter “ I” (or “K” in the old Tagalog alphabet) under their left upper arms. It was during this
meeting that Major Perfecto A. Ragil, a member of the AFP Communications Electronics
Information Service detailed in Malacañang Palace was tasked by Alejano, a member
of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) ’ 95, to switch off the Malacañang Palace’s telephone
system on “D-day.”
The gripe sessions progressed to a recruitment process. Two meetings were held in Metro
Manila, one in Robinson’s Galleria Suites in Mandaluyong on June 4, 2003 and another in an
old house in San Juan on June 12, 2003. A photograph taken in one of these meetings, which
was released to the press by the Presidential Security Group (PSG), shows Trillanes and a
person who appears to be Honasan standing before the Philippine flag and a flag or streamer
with the Magdalo countersign.
In the June 12 meeting in San Juan, the following topics were discussed: the peace and order
situation, the national economy, the alleged illegitimacy of the Arroyo administration,
the Estradaplunder case, the NRP, the need to rectify the errors brought about by EDSA 2,
and the contents of a document entitled “The Last Revolution” . To implement “The Last
Revolution” the junior officers took their oath of loyalty as “New Filipino Heroes” in this and
other similar meetings.
Based on intelligence reports, two documents of dubious origin were distributed during the
meeting in San Juan. These documents were “designed to pollute the minds of the junior
officers.” The first is a supposed Memorandum of Instructions addressed to the Secretary of
National Defense dated February 11, 2003, directing the full implementation of “Oplan
Greenbase.” The document, purportedly signed by the President, contains a plan to
capture Hashim Salamat dead or alive and to occupy the Buliok Complex at the Liguasan
Marsh area in North Cotabato. Secretary Eduardo Ermita of the Office of the Presidential
Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) purportedly signed the other document entitled “The
President’ s Four-Point Policy Framework in Addressing the Southern Philippines
Secessionist/MILF Problem," allegedly pursuant to the February 11 Presidential
Memorandum of Instructions. This latter document purports to show that "there is apparently
a plan by the government to hold the MILF responsible for AFP-backed bombings in urban
areas in Mindanao." President Arroyo denied having issued the first memorandum, and
Ermita denounced the second document as being spurious and fabricated.
The meeting on the night of June 12 was reportedly attended by top RAM officers including
Honasan and retired Navy Capt. Felix Turingan, and the rebel leaders Trillanes, Gambala, and
other junior officers. The group planned to attack high impact targets such as the
Malacañang Palace, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Fort Bonifacio, Camp
Crame, Villamor Air Base, Camp Aguinaldo, and all television and radio stations in Metro
Manila.
The plotters underwent the ritual earlier described as bloodletting, which they termed
“dinuguan.” Apart from the gripe sessions and bloodletting rites, the Magdalo group’s
preparations included the acquisition of rebel paraphernalia. On June 4, 2003, a male
customer went to the International Flag House (IFH) in Manila and placed a job order for 100
pieces each of Philippine flags and Bonifacio flags (i.e., displaying the Magdalo symbol). He
deposited P1,000.00 for the job order, the total cost of which was P24,000.00. The customer
wrote his name on Job Order 2186 as Armand Pontejos and his telephone number as 456-
3222. Subsequent additional orders were placed for more flags, which orders raised the total
cost to P45,000.00. The customer was later identified as Navy Ensign Armand Pontejos, PMA
‘00, one of the rebel soldiers who went to Oakwood.
Another rebel soldier who went to Oakwood was Navy Lt. Manuel Cabochan, of PMA ‘95 who
bought 49 sets of battle dress attire (BDA) uniforms, T-shirts, and combat boots worth
P108,780.00 on June 30, 2003.
There is evidence the Magdalo group also acquired vehicles apparently to transport troops to
target areas. On July 23, five Hyundai Aero buses (presumably second hand) were purchased
for P2.10 million in cash by Francisco Dimaculangan and Isidro Samaco from a company
named Car Option Sales, Inc. One bus was later found in Oakwood while another was
abandoned in Binakayan, Cavite. There is also evidence that some communications
equipment used by the rebel soldiers were of the same specifications as those proposed to
be acquired under the AFP Modernization Act. It was established that such equipment was
not taken from any known or existing inventory of the AFP.
The Magdalo group, it appears, targeted Oakwood as the site for the execution of "Plan
Charlie." On July 19, Gambala checked in at Oakwood under the name of George Uy,
coincidentally the same name as SOUTHCOM Admiral George Uy. A cash deposit of
P48,800.00 for room rental from July 19 to 28, 2003 was paid by a certain Tina Uy Angeles
who made the reservation.[4]
The Mutiny[edit]
Location of Oakwood Premiere and the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati. These hotels had become the
location of the Magdalo mutiny of 2003 and 2007, respectively.
The Oakwood siege had been facilitated by earlier activities as seen in the foregoing account.
The antecedents show that the rebellion was not a spontaneous phenomenon as extensive
preparations and mobilization activities were undertaken prior to the occupation and control
of the Oakwood Apartments.
The rebels took over Oakwood at past 1:00 am of July 27. Over 300 soldiers quietly entered
the premises of Ayala Center in several groups.[25] The soldiers disarmed the security guards
and took over Oakwood. They planted claymore mines around the building and in the vicinity.
Snipers were posted at the Oakwood roof deck.[26]
Two government command groups were immediately dispatched after reports of the
occupation of Oakwood, and of movement of the Marine contingent from Ternate towards
Camp Aguinaldo were confirmed. The Crisis Management Staff was formed at the Command
Operation Center in Camp Crame, and the Advanced Command Post of the PNP was
established behind the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati. Marines and Army officers later
joined the PNP at the Makati post, and the Southern Police DistrictDirector, Police Chief
Superintendent Jose Gutierrez, was designated as the ground commander. At around
2:00 am on July 27, Abu was informed by the Joint Operation Center in Camp Aguinaldo
about the presence of troops moving towards Metro Manila. Most of these troops were
coming from Ternate, Cavite. At this time, the Marines under Teodosio were already poised to
stop the troops. They were pre-positioned around the car park behind Oakwood.
At about the same time, the security guards of Dasmariñas Village in Makati confirmed the
presence of heavily armed men in full battle gear marching from Paraiso Street to the EDSA-
Pasay Road gate of the village. The armed soldiers, wearing red armbands, forced the
security guards to open the gate. They were seen crossing EDSA and going towards the
direction of Ayala Center, Makati. The CIDG-NBI composite team confirmed that the rebel
soldiers came from a house at 2177 Paraiso Street, Dasmariñas Village, owned by Ramon
Cardenas who was residing at 1346 Palm Avenue in the same village. At 4:00 am TF Ayala of
the Marine Corps had been activated and had occupied positions with infantry and armor,
encircling the Ayala Center Complex.[27]
Between 4:00 and 5:00 am, the rebel soldiers were able to make arrangements to go on air to
issue a public statement. The ABS-CBN News (ANC) network showed a live TV coverage of
the prepared statement read by Gambala. In the statement, the rebels declared their
withdrawal of support from the chain of command and presented their grievances against the
Arroyo government. They demanded the resignation of the Arroyo administration leaders and
endorsed the NRP as the solution to the problems of the Philippines.[28]
Also at dawn, Alex Benasin, a resident of the Baseco compound at the Port Area, was busy
recruiting residents of the compound to go to Oakwood for a consideration of P300.00
each.[29] Later, at about 8:30 am, members of the PGBI carrying banners of the NRP were seen
in the Makati area but they were prevented by the PNP from reaching and camping in the
vicinity of Oakwood. Pro-Estrada rallyists headed towards the People Power Monument on
EDSA were also dispersed by police stationed in the area. It was reported that more pro-
Estrada followers actively recruited people from various Metro Manila locations to regroup in
the EDSA Shrine. Members of the PMAP marched in the direction of Makati from Greenhills.
After 9:00 am of July 27, President Arroyo gave the rebel soldiers a 5:00 pm deadline to give
up their positions peacefully and return to barracks. At around 1:00 pm, she declared the
existence of a “State of Rebellion” and issued an order to use reasonable force, and pay due
regard to constitutional rights, in putting down the rebellion.[30] The rebel soldiers held
another public airing of their grievances at around 4:20 pm. By that time, 25 rebel soldiers
had surrendered to the TF Libra in two batches, as revealed by the Government command
stationed outside of Oakwood. The announcement of the surrender was downplayed by the
Magdalo group as part of a “psywar” operation on the part of the Government, during an
ambush interview of Trillanes.
During the media briefing in the afternoon, other rebel officers besides the known leaders
expressed their grievances against the Government while the press conference was going
on.[28]Trillanes, in a side interview by a news reporter, stated that they were willing to
negotiate.
Teodosio arranged for the rebels’ close family members to go to Oakwood and help persuade
members of the rebel group to give up their plans.
Shortly before the 5:00 pm deadline, the President announced an extension of the deadline to
7:00 pm. It was during the two-hour reprieve that negotiations with various personalities and
groups of negotiators prospered. As the deadline approached, negotiations between the
rebel soldiers and the Government team led by the Government chief negotiator,
Ambassador Roy A. Cimatu, effectively extended the deadline indefinitely.[26] An agreement
was forged between the two groups at 9:30 pm At 10:00 pm, President Arroyo announced that
the occupation of Oakwood was over. The rebels agreed to return to barracks and were out of
the Oakwood premises by 11:00 pm.
Grievances[edit]
Based on the press conference held by the rebels during their hold of the hotel, they justified
their actions that they are merely taking this drastic actions to air their grievances which are
to name a few:
Escape[edit]
On December 14, 2005, Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, one of the alleged leaders, escaped
from custody and heavy guard after a hearing at the Regional Trial Court of Makati. He later
issued a statement saying that after keeping his silence for over two years, he was leaving to
"join the fight for a credible government." He stated that he knew that such actions would
bear no benefit for himself, that he would never run for public office, while noting that the
events since 2003 have proven him right.[32] Shortly after his escape, four others of his co-
accused, led by Army Lt. Lawrence San Juan also escaped from their detention in Fort
Bonifacio, Makati.[33]
While outside, Capt. Faeldon called for civil disobedience and set up an organization,
Pilipino.org. His website, www.pilipino.org.ph, received over a million hits in the days
following his escape.[34] He also had himself videotaped and photographed inside various
military camps throughout the Philippines posting the videos and pictures on his
website,[35] saying that:
“ Unless those corrupt generals man the gates themselves, no one can stop me from going in
and out of these camps. The enlisted men and officers of the military and the police who
remain loyal to the people will not turn me in.”[36]
He was recaptured on January 27, 2006, in Mandaluyong by the AITF under the supervision of
PCI Franz Georsua[37]
He was placed in solitary confinement in the detention center of the Intelligence Service
Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Camp Aguinaldo.[38] His salary was also suspended
indefinitely.[39]Thereafter, he was transferred to the Philippine Marine Brig in Fort Bonifacio
where he was incarcerated until he disappeared during the Manila Peninsula mutiny.
Guilty plea[edit]
On July 10, 2007, twelve junior officers, leaders of the Magdalo group – Magdalo is the name
of the group of Officers involved in Oakwood Mutiny Incident, entered guilty pleas on charges
of "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" – (Article 96, Articles of War) at a
hearing at Camp Aguinaldo. They were Army Captains Gerardo Gambala, Milo
Maestrocampo, Lawrence Luis San Juan, Albert Baloloy, John Andres, Florentino Somera
and Alvin Ebreo, and First Lieutenants Cleao Donga-as, Audie Tocloy, Von Rio Tayab, Rex
Bolo and Brian Yasay.[40]
The verdict on the twelve officers, along with 17 others, will be released on the next
scheduled hearing. The court will likely impose the penalty of “dishonorable discharge” on
the junior officers. Five other junior officers, including former Lt/SG Grade Antonio Trillanes
IV, who won a seat in the Senate in the 2007 Philippine mid-term elections, have not indicated
any intention to enter into a plea bargaining agreement with the court. Trillanes, Gambala and
Maestrecampo are members of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1995.
On August 22, 2007, twelve of the accused were meted the sentence of dishonorable
discharge by a military court under Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Legaspi. Sentenced were Army
Captains Milo Maestrecampo, Gerardo Gambala, Albert Baloloy, Alvin Ebreo, Lawrence
Somera, and John Andres; and First Lieutenants Rex Bolo, Von Rio Tayab, Audie
Tocloy, Cleo Donga-as, Florentino Somera, and Brian Yasay. The sentence will take effect
once approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.[41]
On December 20, 2007, fifty two officers led by Lt Jeveehboy Macarubbo of the Philippine Air
Force was released upon the order of the Military Court. These officers were sentenced to be
separated from the service. The mass release came after they were granted executive
clemency that shortened the jail term handed down by a military tribunal.[42]
On April 29, 2008, the military tribunal, presided by Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Legaspi, sentenced 5
Magdalo soldiers to be discharged from service for pleading guilty for violation of Articles of
War 96 (conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman) for their participation in the July 27,
2003 Oakwood mutiny. Army 1st Lieutenants Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Bumidang, and
Nathaniel Rabonza werer discharged from the military service. Also sentenced were 1Lt.
Jason Panaligan and 2Lt. Christopher Orogan, to 7 years and 6 months imprisonment for
violating AW 97 (conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline). The court's
decision is still subject to the approval of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.[43]
11 junior officers, led by Navy Lt. Senior Grade James Layug and Marine Capt. Gary Alejano,
on June 10, 2008 altered their pleas to guilty to a general court martial for violations of
the Articles of War concerning the Oakwood (now Ascott hotel) mutiny. Accordingly, just 6
officers remain charged before the court martial, including Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, and
fugitive Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon.[44]
Appointment, Presidential pardon and release from detention[edit]
17 former members of the Magdalo group were each given a Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agent (PDEA) badge and were appointed PDEA agents on May 6, 2008. They were part of the
53 junior officers who were honorably discharged after a plea bargain agreement after 4 years
of detention.[45] Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on May 12, 2008 approved the conditional pardon for
9 convicted Magdalo soldiers. Captains Milo Maestrecampo and Gerardo Gambala, Albert
Baloloy, John Andres, Alvin Ebreo, Laurence Luis Somera, First Lieutenants Florentino
Somera and Cleo Donga-as and Second Lieutenant Bryan Yasay, were all released from
detention in Fort Bonifacio on May 16, 2008 by newly installed Army commander Lt. Gen.
Victor Ibrado per Court release order, and after their signing of the joint sworn acceptance of
conditional pardon.[46] On April 8, after plea of guilt, the Makati Regional Trial Court sentenced
Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo to reclusion perpetua, while Army Captains Alvin Ebreo,
Laurence Louis Somera, Albert Baloloy and John Andres, 1Lt. Florentino Somera, 2Lt.
Kristoffer Bryan Yasay and 1Lt. Cleo Dongga were sentenced to prison mayor. On April 11,
Army Captain Gerardo Gambala spoke for the 9 Magdalo officers, appealing for presidential
pardon.[47] The 9th division of the Court of Appeals acquitted the coup d'etat charges of Army
1Lt. Lawrence San Juan and 1Lt. Rex Bolo filed by the Department of Justice on April 5,
2015.[48]