Filipino Officers Sentenced for Coup Bid

MANILA — A Philippine court sentenced nine military officers Tuesday to jail terms ranging from 12 to 40 years for taking part in a foiled coup plot against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2003.

The nine are part of a group of 31 junior officers accused of leading a daylong mutiny in which they took over an upscale hotel and mall complex and rigged it with explosives in Manila's financial district of Makati. They later surrendered peacefully.

At the conclusion of the five-year trial, Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Regional Trial Court of Makati sentenced two officers to 40 years in prison and seven others to 12 years. They are facing separate court martial charges.

Pimentel also ordered five years served in detention to be subtracted from the sentence.

Military Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon had no immediate reaction, but said the verdict showed that the judicial system "is taking its due course." He said he appreciated the officers' guilty plea.

Last week, all nine changed their pleas to guilty in an indication of a possible plea bargain. But Assistant State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon denied any deal was reached.

Fadullon said the prosecution sought only 20 years for the two officers — Capts. Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo from the elite army Scout Rangers.

"The decision caught us by surprise due to the penalties. However, Judge Pimentel has his reasons and what the judge imposed was in accordance with the law. It's harsher than what we expected," he told reporters.

The government said the July 27, 2003, mutiny was part of a larger coup conspiracy, but the officers who led the action said they were only protesting alleged corruption and demanding the resignation of Arroyo and other officials. They gave up without a shot fired after a 19-hour standoff.

A fact-finding commission concluded the mutiny was not a spontaneous protest, but part of a larger plot to seize power from Arroyo and appoint a 15-member junta.

It was one of the most serious challenges faced by Arroyo since she took power in a 2001 "people power" uprising that ousted her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, on charges of corruption. She has survived four attempted power grabs and three opposition impeachments in her seven years in power.

Gambala and Maestrecampo were among four identified ringleaders who publicly apologized to Arroyo months after their coup attempt.

The others, led by former navy Lt. Antonio Trillanes IV and marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, remained defiant and criticized their comrades for expressing support for Arroyo.

Trillanes later ran successfully for the Senate, but remains in detention pending the outcome of his trial.

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