Nicanor Faeldon
Encyclopedia
Nicanor E. Faeldon is a Captain in the Philippine Marines who gained national and international attention when he participated as one of the alleged leaders of the incident known as the Oakwood Mutiny
in 2003.
took control of the Oakwood serviced apartments in Makati City
. Led by Captains Gerardo Gambala, Milo Maestrecampo, Nicanor Faeldon and Lt(sg) Antonio Trillanes IV
, they denounced corruption and politicization in the military, alleging, among others, that military officials had been selling arms and ammunition to insurgents and that the government had no intention of resolving existing armed conflicts to allow the corrupt practices to continue. After government negotiators promised to prosecute only the leaders of the alleged mutiny, the incident ended without bloodshed eighteen hours later. However, despite the terms of surrender, all participants, including enlisted men, were taken into custody and charged.
case filed against him and twenty-nine others accused. He later issued a statement saying that after keeping his silence for over two years, he was leaving to "join the fight for a credible government." He stated that he knew that such actions would bear no benefit for himself, that he would never run for public office, while noting that the events since 2003 have proven him right. Shortly after his escape, four others of his co-accused, led by Army Lt. Lawrence San Juan also escaped from their detention in Fort Bonifacio
, Makati City
.
While outside, Capt. Faeldon called for civil disobedience
and set up an organization, Pilipino.org. His website, www.pilipino.org.ph, received over a million hits in the days following his escape. He also had himself videotaped and photographed inside various military camps throughout the Philippines posting the videos and pictures on his website, saying that:
He was recaptured on January 27, 2006, in Mandaluyong City
, with Capt. Candelaria Rivas, a military lawyer with the Judge Advocate General's Office, who was prosecuting his and the other alleged mutineers' court martial case.
He was placed in solitary confinement
in the detention center of the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Camp Aguinaldo
. His salary was also suspended indefinitely. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Philippine Marine Brig in Fort Bonifacio where he remained incarcerated until the November 29, 2007 incident.
After several of his co-accused pleaded guilty to the offense of violation of Articles of War 97 or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman
, Capt. Faeldon released a statement explaining why he in turn would not plea bargain
to any of the offenses he was charged with in connection with the alleged mutiny and that he was continuing the fight they began at Oakwood. In the said statement, he declared that he respects the decision of his co-accused to plead guilty but that he was asserting that nothing had changed since he and his co-accused took over Oakwood four years earlier. He cited rampant corruption and increasing politization in the military. He stated that a plea bargain would be a ratification of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's doubtful legitimacy
. He also indicated that when he went to Oakwood he was well aware that his career or his life could have ended there. He closes his statement by saying:
On November 30, 2007, the website, which had drawn a million hits during Faeldon's alleged escape in 2005, was allegedly dismantled by the government.
However, by 10 December the site was back with statements in defense of Faeldon.
(colloquially, Manila Peninsula Hotel), Makati City, Philippines. Detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
, Brigadier General Danilo D. Lim
, and 25 other Magdalo officers walked out of their trial and marched through the streets of Makati City
, called for the ousting of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
, and seized the second floor of the Manila Peninsula Hotel along Ayala Avenue. Former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
also joined the march to the hotel, as well as some of the soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Trillanes and Lim surrendered to government forces several hours after the beginning of the mutiny, after the military armored personnel carrier barged into the lobby of the hotel. Trillanes and the mutineers were arrested while several journalists that covered the event were hancuffed and detained. The journalists were subsequently released.
Faeldon and three Magdalo officers are still missing. Two days later, the government set a one million Philippine peso (Php 1,000,000.00) reward for any information leading to his re-arrest.
Shortly after the PNP announced the release of Wanted posters for Faeldon and other alleged "Magdalo soldiers" a statement went up on the pilipino.org website questioning the reward and the wanted poster, which was to be released before the arrest warrant was issued by the Regional Trial Court only after the December 11 hearing.
Oakwood mutiny
The Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines on July 27, 2003. A group of 321 armed soldiers who called themselves "Bagong Katipuneros" led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and LtSG...
in 2003.
Oakwood mutiny
On July 27, 2003, a group of 321 men of various branches of the Philippine militaryArmed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
took control of the Oakwood serviced apartments in Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
. Led by Captains Gerardo Gambala, Milo Maestrecampo, Nicanor Faeldon and Lt(sg) Antonio Trillanes IV
Antonio Trillanes IV
Antonio "Sonny" Fuentes Trillanes IV is a former Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade and concurrently serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2007....
, they denounced corruption and politicization in the military, alleging, among others, that military officials had been selling arms and ammunition to insurgents and that the government had no intention of resolving existing armed conflicts to allow the corrupt practices to continue. After government negotiators promised to prosecute only the leaders of the alleged mutiny, the incident ended without bloodshed eighteen hours later. However, despite the terms of surrender, all participants, including enlisted men, were taken into custody and charged.
Escape
On December 14, 2005, Capt. Faeldon escaped from custody and heavy guard after attending a hearing on the coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
case filed against him and twenty-nine others accused. He later issued a statement saying that after keeping his silence for over two years, he was leaving to "join the fight for a credible government." He stated that he knew that such actions would bear no benefit for himself, that he would never run for public office, while noting that the events since 2003 have proven him right. Shortly after his escape, four others of his co-accused, led by Army Lt. Lawrence San Juan also escaped from their detention in Fort Bonifacio
Fort Bonifacio
Fort Bonifacio is a highly urbanized district in Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The district is named after the main Philippine Army camp in Metro Manila, Fort Andres Bonifacio, which in turn was named after the famous Philippine revolutionary hero Andres Bonifacio...
, Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
.
While outside, Capt. Faeldon called for civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
and set up an organization, Pilipino.org. His website, www.pilipino.org.ph, received over a million hits in the days following his escape. He also had himself videotaped and photographed inside various military camps throughout the Philippines posting the videos and pictures on his website, saying that:
He was recaptured on January 27, 2006, in Mandaluyong City
Mandaluyong City
The City of Mandaluyong is one of the cities and municipalities that comprise Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the west by the country's capital, Manila, to the north by San Juan City, to the east by Quezon City and Pasig City, and by Makati City to the south...
, with Capt. Candelaria Rivas, a military lawyer with the Judge Advocate General's Office, who was prosecuting his and the other alleged mutineers' court martial case.
He was placed in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
in the detention center of the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines, in Camp Aguinaldo
Camp Aguinaldo
Camp Aguinaldo is the military headquarters of the Philippine Army and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is located in Quezon City in the Philippines. It is along Epifanio de los Santos Ave. , in front of Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police...
. His salary was also suspended indefinitely. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Philippine Marine Brig in Fort Bonifacio where he remained incarcerated until the November 29, 2007 incident.
No plea bargain
Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman
Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman is an offense subject to court martial defined in the punitive code, Article 133, of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice , enacted at ....
, Capt. Faeldon released a statement explaining why he in turn would not plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
to any of the offenses he was charged with in connection with the alleged mutiny and that he was continuing the fight they began at Oakwood. In the said statement, he declared that he respects the decision of his co-accused to plead guilty but that he was asserting that nothing had changed since he and his co-accused took over Oakwood four years earlier. He cited rampant corruption and increasing politization in the military. He stated that a plea bargain would be a ratification of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's doubtful legitimacy
2006 state of emergency in the Philippines
The Philippines was under a state of emergency, announced by presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye on the morning of February 24, 2006, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1017. This occurred after the government claimed that it foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt against the administration of...
. He also indicated that when he went to Oakwood he was well aware that his career or his life could have ended there. He closes his statement by saying:
Advocacy
The organization, Pilipino.org, founded by Capt. Faeldon, aims to organize Filipinos for the purpose of creating greater national consciousness to achieve nationhood.On November 30, 2007, the website, which had drawn a million hits during Faeldon's alleged escape in 2005, was allegedly dismantled by the government.
However, by 10 December the site was back with statements in defense of Faeldon.
JPEPA
In July 2007 he filed a criminal case against Philippine officials who negotiated the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, a bi-lateral trade agreement opposed by citizen's groups who claimed that the said agreement would allow the importation of toxic wastes into the country. In his complaint he states that the negotiators of the treaty compromised Philippine interests in favor of Japan. He again reiterated that he does not intend to run for public office.Manila Peninsula incident
The Manila Peninsula incident occurred on November 29, 2007 at The Peninsula ManilaThe Peninsula Manila
The Peninsula Manila , is a 5-star hotel in the Philippines. It is located on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue in the central business district of Makati City, wherein it is now a landmark because of its majestic fountain and falls in Metro Manila. It is located also in Barangay Urdaneta...
(colloquially, Manila Peninsula Hotel), Makati City, Philippines. Detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV
Antonio Trillanes IV
Antonio "Sonny" Fuentes Trillanes IV is a former Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade and concurrently serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2007....
, Brigadier General Danilo D. Lim
Danilo Lim
Danilo Lim is a retired Filipino brigadier general. He has been incarcerated at the Camp Crame in Quezon City from 2006 to 2010 for rebellion charges and attempted coup d'état...
, and 25 other Magdalo officers walked out of their trial and marched through the streets of Makati City
Makati City
The City of Makati is one of the 17 cities that make up Metro Manila, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines and one of the major financial, commercial and economic hubs in Asia...
, called for the ousting of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
, and seized the second floor of the Manila Peninsula Hotel along Ayala Avenue. Former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
Teofisto Guingona, Jr.
Teofisto Tayko Guingona, Jr. was the Vice President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004 during the first term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.-Early Life and Career:...
also joined the march to the hotel, as well as some of the soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Trillanes and Lim surrendered to government forces several hours after the beginning of the mutiny, after the military armored personnel carrier barged into the lobby of the hotel. Trillanes and the mutineers were arrested while several journalists that covered the event were hancuffed and detained. The journalists were subsequently released.
Faeldon and three Magdalo officers are still missing. Two days later, the government set a one million Philippine peso (Php 1,000,000.00) reward for any information leading to his re-arrest.
Shortly after the PNP announced the release of Wanted posters for Faeldon and other alleged "Magdalo soldiers" a statement went up on the pilipino.org website questioning the reward and the wanted poster, which was to be released before the arrest warrant was issued by the Regional Trial Court only after the December 11 hearing.
See also
- Oakwood MutinyOakwood mutinyThe Oakwood mutiny occurred in the Philippines on July 27, 2003. A group of 321 armed soldiers who called themselves "Bagong Katipuneros" led by Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala and LtSG...
- 2006 state of emergency in the Philippines2006 state of emergency in the PhilippinesThe Philippines was under a state of emergency, announced by presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye on the morning of February 24, 2006, by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1017. This occurred after the government claimed that it foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt against the administration of...
- Hello Garci scandalHello Garci scandalThe Hello Garci scandal was a political scandal and electoral crisis in the Philippines.The scandal involved former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who allegedly rigged the 2004 national election in her favor. The official results of that election gave Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro...