‘Mutineer’ Faeldon to apply for amnesty Friday

Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon, implicated in two attempts to topple the Arroyo administration, will apply for amnesty Friday. In a text message, Faeldon said he will go to the Department of National Defense (DND) building inside Camp Aguinaldo at around 9:30 a.m. to apply for the amnesty. Faeldon was released from detention last January after the military leadership granted his request to be released to the custody of a superior officer. Before that, he posted a P100,000 bail each for pending coup d’etat and rebellion cases he is facing before the Makati City Regional Trial Court. Faeldon is facing trial before civilian and military courts for allegedly participating in two attempts to overthrow the Arroyo administration, first the July 2003 Oakwood mutiny and then the November 2007 siege of Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City. Faeldon escaped authorities during the height of the Manila Peninsula siege on Nov. 29, 2007, where he, detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, former Scout Ranger chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and 25 other soldiers walked out of their trial and marched through the streets of Makati City, called for the ouster of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and seized the second floor of the posh Manila Peninsula Hotel along Ayala Avenue. He surrendered during the first days of the Aquino administration. Prior to that, he escaped from military custody in December 2005 after attending a court hearing, but was subsequently arrested by military intelligence agents a month later in Malabon in the company of military prosecutor Capt. Candelaria Rivas. The government had offered a P1 million bounty for his arrest. The DND started accepting amnesty applications last January. As of March 9, 2011, some 247 soldiers and police officers – detained for taking part in three attempts to overthrow the Arroyo government – have applied for amnesty. Over 150 applications have already been approved by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin since Jan. 3, including Trillanes, a former Navy officer, and Capt. Gary Alejano. - KBK, GMA News