AFP orders probe on soldiers' e-campaign for Trillanes

AFP orders probe on soldiers' e-campaign for Trillanes
AMITA LEGASPI,GMANews.TV
02/20/2007 | 06:02 PM

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr ordered on Tuesday an investigation on soldiers suspected of helping through the Internet, the election campaign of detained Lieutenant SG Antonio Trillanes IV.

Radio dzBB reported Esperon wondered how Trillanes was able to post messages in his blogs and Friendster accounts when there was no phone line and internet connection inside his detention cell.

Trillanes, who filed his candidacy to run for the Senate on February 6, is detained at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

Esperon said the resigned Navy officer would not be able to do it without the help of sympathetic soldiers.

Trillanes’ friends, who identified themselves as a group of military personnel, earlier dedicated a website for the detained Navy officer to boost his campaign.

During the filing of COC, Trillanes said he is upbeat about his chances to secure a Senate seat despite his detention. "I have many supporters, we will launch a proxy campaign all over the country," Trillanes said, adding, “we will maximize technology – TV, radio, print, text (SMS) and the Internet."

In his blogspot, (http://magdaloparasapagbabago.blogspot.com/) Trillanes said: “More than three years ago, my fellow soldiers and I stood for our convictions and pushed for reforms to pursue our collective vision: to live in a society where there is no corruption… where the streets are safe and the needs of the poor are addressed adequately…where every citizen is provided with the best education, sufficient health care, and genuine public service."

He said this “vision has sustained me throughout the years" and that “now… is the time to carry forth this vision."

Meanwhile, in his Friendster account that caters more to the youth, (www.friendster/trillanes), he posted that his hobbies are tennis, badminton, chess, basketball, malling with his family and watching movies.

His favorite books are True Believer, American Ceasar, Brotherhood of the Rose, Books of Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth.

Trillanes' favorite songs are those by the Side A Band and Mike Francis.

Esperon reiterated his warning that charges of violation of articles of war will be filed against soldiers found conspiring with Trillanes.

Dzbb quoted Esperon as saying that the AFP will not allow Trillanes to go out of his detention cell to campaign. He said Trillanes still faces charges before the general court martial and the Makati regional trial court.

On July 27, 2003, a group of 321 armed soldiers led by Trillanes, who called themselves Magdalo, took over the Oakwood Premier hotel in Ayala, Makati to protest the alleged massive corruption in the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The mutiny ended in 18 hours after the soldiers failed to get support from the public and the leadership of the armed forces. The soldiers, including Trillanes, surrendered peacefully and were charged in a general court martial.

Esperon earlier issued an order barring any member of the AFP, including civilian employees, from either endorsing or campaigning publicly, in any form, for a particular candidate to any elective position.

"These guidelines were set not to infringe on the individual rights of our soldiers and employees but rather to ensure that the AFP as an organization remains to be non-partisan," Esperon said.
GMANews.TV