Adaza and four others facing several charges including coup plot

Miami
July 3, 2008
Story: Adaza and four others facing several charges including coup plot

Former Assemblyman Atty. Homobono Adaza together with other four former military and police personnel now facing several charges of Proposing to Commit Coup d’ etat; Obstruction of Justice-Harboring Fugitive and Swindling or Estafa after they were arrested last July 2, 2008.

Together with Adaza are Philippine Army Lt. Col. Oscar Mapalo already declared as an AWOL from the AFP since 2005; Retired Col Ernie Amboy also from Philippine Army; Retired Col. Cesar dela Pena from Philippine Marines and former Police Superintendent Rafael Cardeno. Together with them who will face the same charge is Retired Col. Edgardo Tapia of Philippine Marines who still remain at large.

Cardeno will have additional charge of Concealing True Name or Using Fictitious Name. His alias is randy Marvella.

Adaza, Mapalo, dela Pena and Tapia will face the charge of Obstruction of Justice-harboring a Fugitive on Cardeno who was with them when they were arrested.

According to Atty. Raymond Fortun, his client Mr. Motonori Sakuma consultant of the Island Country Resort, Inc. (ICR) informed him that on May 15, they accepted the services of OMT Security Services, Inc. to give proposals on how the Japanese investors could recover management control of Gold Barrel (the company under ICR) for the purpose of the opening of the arly opening of the Buenavista island, a resort they want to operate in Marinduque.

Fortun said he first met with Adaza on May 27, who was with Mapalo, Tapia and dela Pena at Brazil Brazil in Ayala, Alabang, “Right then he told me that they need $10M to stage a coup, then I said ok, I will bring the matter to my client, that is my job as the lawyer.”

The 2nd meeting with Adaza together with Tapia and Mapalo was last July 1, when the group were insisting on staging a coup d etat. “To my mind, it became really serious when on July 1 they threatened me already. They told me they needed the $4M or else they will kill two Filipino and put the blame on my client (Sakuma)”. however, Fortun did not said in the interview who are these two Filipinos.

Fortun said that they have plan A and B. Plan A involved filing of cases before DOLE and BIR against Hermes, where the employees supposedly employed. Hermes is the manpower agency set up by Manuel Copon and Emanuel Galdo, the President and Vice-President respectively of the Gold Barrel.

Plan B involved the action of OMT to pick-up Copon and Galdo be brought to the NBI for questioning for the violation of anti-dummy law unless they execute Deeds of Assignment in favor of the Japanese Investors. “The Filipinos were not performing on that standards of the Japanese. This was the problem, But they cannot change them anymore because they refused to turned over the work already,” Fortun said.

Meanwhile, Adaza said that Fortun only wants to go back in the limelight that is why he is “being pinned down” by Fortun. “He lost a case for (former President Joseph) Estrada and the best way to return in a limelight and focusing on me.”

Adaza denied that he is staging a coup d’etat and saying not because he is only a lawyer for dela Pena who has a case in Sandiganbayan for illegal disposition of firearms. “I am only a lawyer of dela pena but it does not mean I will staged a coup. These people are all retired already how can I staged a coup wherein I do not have any single soldier.”

Adaza also said those who can staged a coup d’ etat are only those in service.

Meanwhile Fortun said that this is simply a corporate case that turned out to be an extortion attempt for a purpose of a destabilization plot against the Arroyo administration.