Esperon: Trillanes win means no coup in the offing

As far as Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon is concerned, a win by Genuine Opposition senatorial bet, ex-Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, could at least minimize, if not eradicate, disgruntled soldiers from resorting to unconstitutional means in effecting changes in government. "If indeed he becomes a senator…probably wouldn’t it be also good because instead of resorting to unconstitutional ways, now he is mainstream. So he won’t be engaged in coup d' etat…there is no longer destabilization from his side. That’s one way of looking at it," Esperon said. Esperon spoke with reporters in Camp Aguinaldo after a luncheon meeting with Defense chief Hermogenes Ebdane and Akbayan Rep. Loretta Rosales. Trillanes is among the core leaders facing court martial proceedings as well as coup d' etat charges before a Makati court in connection with the short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003. At present, Trillanes is detained at the Philippine Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. He waged his campaign through his relatives and other representatives and it was only in the last stages in the campaign that the Makati regional court gave him access to media. Based on the partial, unofficial count of the Namfrel (National Movement for Free Elections) as of Friday afternoon, Trillanes remains included in the list of winning senatorial candidates at 12th spot. On the other hand, he is ranked 13th based on the official Comelec tally, closely trailing behind Team Unity’s Ralph Recto. "If he becomes a senator, then I hope he performs well but then we must wait for the final results of the elections and whatever the results will be, that must be what we must abide by," Esperon said. But the AFP chief stressed that should Trillanes or any other candidate lose, they should also accept their fate wholeheartedly. "That’s also true for all candidates. If there are those who should concede, they should concede. If the counting is over, then let us get back to work, there’s a lot of work to do." On the current strong showing of Trillanes, Esperon said: "Nobody has a complete explanation on that." "How could I gauge the public’s way of choosing who they vote for…Whatever will be the results, let’s take it as a mandate from the people," he added. Esperon had said that court martial proceedings against Trillanes will continue even if he wins, adding that the former Navy officer could still be meted out sanctions if found guilty of the charges against him. For his part, Ebdane attributed Trillanes’ strong showing to the sympathy votes obtained previously by Gregorio Honasan, a former rebel military officer who first won a Senate seat in 1995. Incidentally, Honasan is also showing good chances of getting back at the Senate in both Namfrel and Comelec tallies. - GMANews.TV