CLARK FREEPORT – Was the case of the New Zealand national and six former soldiers who were arrested here last Thursday and were initially tagged as being terrorists a mere case of vendetta for a personal grudge?
Lawyer Doroteo Nino Angeles, counsel for the ex-soldiers, told Punto! yesterday he lamented “the false information being given to the media” on the case.
“For one thing, the six former military men were discharged honorably from military service,” he said.
He furnished Punto! a copy of the formal complaint against the former soldiers identifying them as Bernard Cajigas of Leyte, Aldren Mata of Albay, Jose Alicante of Masbate, Edward Abuac of Baguio City, Noel Austero of Legazpi City and, Norberto Gomez of Masbate City.
The complaint against the former soldiers was filed by Mariano F. Villafuerte who identified himself in the complaint as executive director for intelligence of the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), and Eric Anthony B. Gan who identified himself as confidential agent of the Bureau of Immigration based in Clark.
Angeles also noted that Newman was not included in the charge, although the formal complaint filed against the six former soldiers described him and the six as “Magdalo soldiers having illegal military special trainings with foreign mercenary trainers” allegedly involving “demolition and sabotage with explosives”.
“The Angeles prosecutor later ordered the six ex-soldiers released after inquest which showed their arrest was irregular and that there was a need for preliminary investigation in their case,” Angeles said.
A powerful relative of a prominent pro-administration congressman reportedly played a significant role in the raid that led to the arrest of the New Zealand national and the six retired Navy soldiers at the Eagle Tactical Gun Club firing range here Thursday last week.
Sources told Punto! that days before the raid, the congressional relative had a tiff with New Zealander Anthony Joseph Newman over the use of one area of the firing range.
As the range was already reserved for the use of Newman’s group, including six former navy soldiers reportedly being trained for his new security agency, the relative was reportedly enranged and warned the foreigner “to watch out for what would happen next”, sources quoted witnesses as saying.
The sources said that the raid at the firing range at about 5:30 p.m. last Thursday was led by the congressional relative who also took along agents from the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), the police Criminal and Investigation and Detection Group, and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Angeles City police.
The relative and his men went into the office of the firing range and compelled Newman and the six former soldiers to out of the building. Newman was reportedly forced to strip naked and told to lie flat on the ground, according to the sources.
PAOCTF agents later announced Newman and the six soldiers as being terrorists and that the soldiers belonged to the Magdalo group who joined the Oakland Hotel mutiny in 2006.
A friend of Newman who asked not to be named insisted, however, that the foreigner’s visa had earlier been renewed and that there was no legal problem with his stay in the country.
Sources said Newman is a partner of known real estate developer Luis Yulo in establishing a professional security service agency for VIPs and that the security agency was already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission before last Thursday’s raid.
While Newman was taken to the detention center of the BI in Bicutan in Metro Manila, the six ex-soldiers were brought to the Angeles City police headquarters.
Last Friday, Angeles police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit said he had nothing to do with the raid and that the soldiers were merely turned over to his custody at about 7 p.m. Thursday.
Angeles said that the six soldiers were about to be released by the Angeles police Friday night but their release was again prevented by the congressional relative who arrived at the police headquarters with agents from the National Bureau of Investigation, until they were ordered released the following day by the Angeles prosecutor.
The complaint said that during the raid, illegal firearms were found in the possession of the soldiers who were also allegedly found wearing SWAT uniforms with insignias and electronic devices “used in the conduct of illegal specialized military training for the purpose of assassinations and/or destabilization in violation of R.A. 9372 known as the Human Security Act of 2002.”
Angeles debunked this, saying that all the firearms found were licensed and that the ex-soldiers were not even in uniform when the raid was conducted.
Lawyer Doroteo Nino Angeles, counsel for the ex-soldiers, told Punto! yesterday he lamented “the false information being given to the media” on the case.
“For one thing, the six former military men were discharged honorably from military service,” he said.
He furnished Punto! a copy of the formal complaint against the former soldiers identifying them as Bernard Cajigas of Leyte, Aldren Mata of Albay, Jose Alicante of Masbate, Edward Abuac of Baguio City, Noel Austero of Legazpi City and, Norberto Gomez of Masbate City.
The complaint against the former soldiers was filed by Mariano F. Villafuerte who identified himself in the complaint as executive director for intelligence of the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), and Eric Anthony B. Gan who identified himself as confidential agent of the Bureau of Immigration based in Clark.
Angeles also noted that Newman was not included in the charge, although the formal complaint filed against the six former soldiers described him and the six as “Magdalo soldiers having illegal military special trainings with foreign mercenary trainers” allegedly involving “demolition and sabotage with explosives”.
“The Angeles prosecutor later ordered the six ex-soldiers released after inquest which showed their arrest was irregular and that there was a need for preliminary investigation in their case,” Angeles said.
A powerful relative of a prominent pro-administration congressman reportedly played a significant role in the raid that led to the arrest of the New Zealand national and the six retired Navy soldiers at the Eagle Tactical Gun Club firing range here Thursday last week.
Sources told Punto! that days before the raid, the congressional relative had a tiff with New Zealander Anthony Joseph Newman over the use of one area of the firing range.
As the range was already reserved for the use of Newman’s group, including six former navy soldiers reportedly being trained for his new security agency, the relative was reportedly enranged and warned the foreigner “to watch out for what would happen next”, sources quoted witnesses as saying.
The sources said that the raid at the firing range at about 5:30 p.m. last Thursday was led by the congressional relative who also took along agents from the Presidential Anti Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), the police Criminal and Investigation and Detection Group, and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Angeles City police.
The relative and his men went into the office of the firing range and compelled Newman and the six former soldiers to out of the building. Newman was reportedly forced to strip naked and told to lie flat on the ground, according to the sources.
PAOCTF agents later announced Newman and the six soldiers as being terrorists and that the soldiers belonged to the Magdalo group who joined the Oakland Hotel mutiny in 2006.
A friend of Newman who asked not to be named insisted, however, that the foreigner’s visa had earlier been renewed and that there was no legal problem with his stay in the country.
Sources said Newman is a partner of known real estate developer Luis Yulo in establishing a professional security service agency for VIPs and that the security agency was already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission before last Thursday’s raid.
While Newman was taken to the detention center of the BI in Bicutan in Metro Manila, the six ex-soldiers were brought to the Angeles City police headquarters.
Last Friday, Angeles police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit said he had nothing to do with the raid and that the soldiers were merely turned over to his custody at about 7 p.m. Thursday.
Angeles said that the six soldiers were about to be released by the Angeles police Friday night but their release was again prevented by the congressional relative who arrived at the police headquarters with agents from the National Bureau of Investigation, until they were ordered released the following day by the Angeles prosecutor.
The complaint said that during the raid, illegal firearms were found in the possession of the soldiers who were also allegedly found wearing SWAT uniforms with insignias and electronic devices “used in the conduct of illegal specialized military training for the purpose of assassinations and/or destabilization in violation of R.A. 9372 known as the Human Security Act of 2002.”
Angeles debunked this, saying that all the firearms found were licensed and that the ex-soldiers were not even in uniform when the raid was conducted.
