Pretrial probe recommended for Navy's Angue

A two-star Navy flag officer who railed against his fellow officers and the military’s promotional system has been recommended to face pretrial investigation preparatory to a possible trial by court martial. The pretrial investigation will determine if Rear Admiral Feliciano Angue should be tried by a military tribunal, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta in a phone interview Sunday. “The Philippine Navy special investigation committee submitted to the general headquarters their recommendation regarding the Angue case. The recommendation was referred to the AFP chief, recommending for a pretrial investigation," Mabanta said. The Navy investigated Angue after he claimed that several ranking military officials sided with politicians in the May 10, 2010, elections resulting in them being appointed to juicy positions in the AFP. He also accused Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin of manipulating the AFP’s promotion system by posting to key positions officers who are close to him. Angue belongs to the Philippine Military Academy class of 1978, the batch that includes former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as an honorary member. If tried by court martial, Angue will be the fourth two-star military officer to face the tribunal in recent years. The others were Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who reportedly amassed over P300 million worth of ill-gotten wealth while serving as the military’s comptroller; Maj. Gen. Jose Barbieto for allegedly demanding payments from people applying to become soldiers; and Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Arroyo government in February 2006. Garcia was convicted by the military court in 2005 for conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. The trials against Miranda and Barbieto, meanwhile, are still ongoing. - KBK, GMANews.TV