Former AFP Chief of Staff Senga testifies at the Magdalo Hearing in Makati RTC

Miami
July 17, 2008
Story 1: Former AFP Chief of Staff Senga testifies at the Magdalo Hearing in Makati RTC

Former head of the Armed Forces testifies at the Oakwood mutiny hearing at Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148, Thursday morning.

Gen. Generoso Senga, former Chief of Staff of the AFP testified on the military offensive happened in Buliok Complex in North Cotabato of the year 2002.

But, for the Prosecutor panel, Senga’s testimonies have no connection on what happened in the Oakwood mutiny, “His testimonies does not state that what happened in buliok complex is the reason why the soldiers staged a mutiny,” Asst. Chief State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon said.

Fadullon added that Senga testified as head of the 6th Infantry Battalion who conducted the military offensive at the Buliok complex and not as a Chief of Staff of the AFP.

For the defense panel, Atty. Ernesto Francisco said that in due time they will be able to prove that it is President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who ordered to have a military operations in Buliok, which for the young soldiers should not happened.

According to Francisco they will be able to prove it based on the statements that made by the President herself. “We subpoena the Chief of the Records Division of the Office of the President to present the documents that we are asking but he did not show up today, we will try again next time,” Francisco said.

Francisco still insists that the soldiers went to Oakwood because there are already threat on their life, “Two days before the Oakwood incident there is already a threat that they will be hunting down, and if they will refused they will be killed, that is one of the reason why they went to Oakwood to air their grievances. In fact, all of the witnesses never said that there is a mutiny taking place.”

The next hearing will be on September 4 and 11, and the defense panel will present Senator Gringo Honasan, Francisco said that Honasan will testify on the national recovery plan as not a plan to take over the government but as an ordinary political program for the government.