Military Hunts Down Fugitive Coup Leader In Mindanao

Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 11 Jan) Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon ordered Wednesday an investigation into reports that a fugitive coup leader was spotted inside the Southern Command headquarters in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

Esperon said he ordered army intelligence units to investigate whether Capt. Nicanor Faeldon was really in Mindanao.

"He cannot hide all the time, and eventually we will arrest him," he told the Zamboanga Journal.

Faeldon released a set of new photographs and a video clip showing he was inside the Southern Command. Last week he also showed footages taken in Palawan province in the central Philippines when he allegedly sneaked inside the Western Command headquarters on December 21.

In Faeldon's website at http://www.pilipino.org.ph, he said: "No one can stop me from entering these camps unless the corrupt generals themselves man the entrances. The soldiers and officers of the military who remain loyal to the people, and who value their honor, will not turn me in."

"This is my first act of civil disobedience since I left detention. No one is "coddling" me; rather, there are others in the military who are committing civil disobedience together with me. I ask you to join me in bringing down Arroyo through civil disobedience."

"We will post in the coming days specific, nonviolent acts that people can do to send the message to Arroyo and to the rest of the world that Arroyo is not our president," he said.

Faeldon's photographs and video showed him speaking on his mobile phone near the office of Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adad. He said the pictures and the video were his gift to Adan, who retired Wednesday.

Esperon said the photographs and video are being investigated if they were authentic of not.

"King Kong was also in New York climbing sky crapers," Esperon said, referring to the Hollywood blockbuster movie King Kong.

He said government destabilizers could be using Faeldon to overthrow the Arroyo administration. "Faeldon should not let himself be used by groups with vested and destructive interests. You must not allow yourself be used by persons who are not accountable to the people," he said without further elaborating.

New Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon said he will meet with senior commanders to discuss plans to track down Faeldon.

He said he would still investigate whether the photographs and the video clip are genunine or not. "We will have to rely on photo and video experts, but I suspect those were digitally enhanced materials, Habacon said, adding, the woman who walked past Faeldon in the video looked small and the clip could be spliced to make it appear that the fugitive coup leader was physically in Southern Command.

"Remember that there are also dinosaurs and aliens in Hollywood," Habacon said. But just the way, he ordered military forces to arrest Faeldon if he is spotted anywhere in the southern Philippines. "My order is to arrest Faeldon if he is spotted anywhere in the southern Philippines," Habacon said.

Adan also doubted the authenticity of the Faeldon photographs and video.

"Those are nothing. Experts can manipulate everything in the computer with the right softwares, and who is Faeldon, he is nothing but a small fish. We must all stand united and support the democratic government and we will surely defeat the evils of our society," Adan told the Zamboanga Journal before leaving for Manila with his family.

Faeldon, who was one of the leaders in the failed Oakwood mutiny in Manila's financial district of Makati, escaped on December 14 after a postponed rebellion hearing. Days later, he sent video clips to media organizations that showed him inside the Western Command.

The military previously said the clip was digitally manipulated.