A massive manhunt has been launched for more people suspected  of helping stage the short-lived rebellion against the Arroyo administration last Thursday, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. said yesterday.

Among those being hunted are Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon and three other soldiers, including one who was seen on television wearing a wig during the stand-off at the Peninsula hotel in Makati City.

Razon considers Faeldon “armed and dangerous” after he managed to slip out of the hotel where the Marine officer supported detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim in calling for the withdrawal of support from President Arroyo.

The PNP chief said police are checking information that Faeldon initially pretended to be a journalists but later disguised himself as a waiter and went to the hotel’s service area.

Video footage showed that a man wearing military uniform and sporting long curly hair was standing behind Trillanes when he called for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo.

“They (Magdalo soldiers) were prepared to do this. He had the intention to conceal his identity when he escaped. Another soldier left behind his wig and uniform,” Razon said.

During the clearing operations at the Peninsula, Razon said they were able to arrest Ensign Armano  Pontejos and Francisco Bosi who were hiding in one of the rooms.

Police likewise said they recovered firearms and grenades during the clearing operations, an indication that the Magdalo soldiers were ready for the worst.

The suspects, according to Razon, would be charged depending on the outcome  of the investigation. Charges could range from the gravest offense, which is rebellion, to lesser offenses.

Aside from the group of Trillanes and Lim, there were three other groups who were supposed to take part in the effort to destabilize the government, according to Razon.

“We recovered documents from one of the rooms of the Peninsula hotel which indicated there were four groups that will be part of the activities. We are still accounting for over 30 other people,” Razon said.

Razon refused to divulge more information about the pursuit of Faeldon and other personalities, who were part of the plot.

Faeldon, detained for coup d’etat in connection with the Oakwood mutiny last July 27, 2003, first escaped from detention at the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio on Dec. 14, 2005.

While a fugitive, and even after he was rearrested, Faeldon released pictures of himself inside military camps, including the Western command and Southern command headquarters.

Faeldon has been charged for alleged violation of Article of War 96 (conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman) before the court martial. He is also charged with coup d’etat before the Makati Regional Trial Court alongside the other alleged leaders of the Oakwood mutiny.

‘Disguised as a woman’

A top intelligence official said authorities hunting Faeldon would have a harder time finding him, as he often disguises himself as a woman to evade detection.

The official said when Faeldon escaped from custody and heavy guard after attending a hearing on Dec. 14, 2005, it was later found that he disguised himself as a woman.

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. 

AFP Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that Faeldon appeared to be on his own and is expecting that he would be re-arrested soon.

Esperon also believes Faeldon and his fellow jailed officers at the Marine brigade are not capable of spearheading moves to destabilize the government

Faeldon’s counsel Trixie Angeles said she is not aware of the whereabouts of her client, citing that the disappearance of her client is worrying his family and friends.

Angeles said Faeldon, who attended the coup d’etat hearing at the Makati City RTC, went along with Trillanes and Lim to the Peninsula hotel.

“However, after he had been interviewed en route to the hotel and at the hotel, he has not been heard of since. He was not among the accused arrested at the hotel, and he is not in his detention quarters in Fort Bonifacio. He had last informed his counsel that he was returning to the Marine brigade,” Angeles said.

Angeles called on the AFP to respect Faeldon’s rights if he is under their custody.

Angeles said that when Faeldon was rearrested in January 2006, he was isolated and maltreated. 

“He refused to disseminate information about the torture, however, to prevent  panic among his supporters.  Nevertheless, his ordeal remains in the

minds of his adherents and associates,” Angeles said, adding, “We further note the care in the drafting of the official statement of the PNP that Capt. Faeldon is ‘unaccounted for’.” 

Supporters to be unmasked

Esperon vowed that they will also unmask civilians who supported Trillanes and Lim’s failed attempt to oust President Arroyo.

Esperon said that documents recovered during clearing operations at the hotel clearly showed some involvement of civilians in the destabilization plot.

National security adviser Noberto Gonzales also said up to 20 other people who were not part of the hotel siege were under investigation, including businessmen said to have financed the rebellion.

“Some of them are businessmen but I do not want to be hasty by naming names,” Gonzales said.

“We are still in the process of unmasking them,” Esperon said when asked if former President Joseph Estrada was also involved in the move to oust the President.

The name of the former president cropped up as one of those who could be possibly involved in the failed power grab after Lim said that President Arroyo had only usurped power from Estrada.

Other military officers who refused to be identified, meanwhile, expressed dismay  to see some leftist groups with Lim and Trillanes on television, concluding that the present government is better than a communist one.

They were referring to lawyers Argee Guevarra and JV Bautista of Sanlakas who were with Lim and Trillanes inside the hotel.

The officers also denounced the handling of other civilians, especially Bishop Julio Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes and ex-Vice President Teofisto Guingona.

“Guingona and Bishop Labayen were old enough. What is Gen. Geary Barias doing?” they said, referring to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Geary Barias’ actions against the three.

The group also expressed alarm over how Barias handled the crisis by harshly dealing with the media while allowing the escape of most of the security escorts of Trillanes at the height of the siege. – With Jaime Laude, Paolo Romero