MANILA, Philippines -- The long and winding saga of the ?Oakwood mutiny? trial took a strange turn Wednesday, with nine of the 31 accused junior officers changing their plea to ?guilty? on charges of coup d?etat.

The nine Army officers led by Captains Milo Maestrecampo and Gerardo Gambala pleaded guilty when the charge was read to them for the second time in the nearly five-year-old trial, lawyers and prosecutors said. As in the past weeks, the early-morning hearing presided over by Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 was closed to media coverage.

Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said the prosecution panel had recommended prison terms of 17 to 20 years for Maestrecampo and Gambala, and 10 to 12 years for Captains Albert Baloloy, John Andres and Alvin Ebreo, and Lieutenants Lawrence Luis Somera, Florentino Somera, Christopher Brian Yasay and Cleo Dongga-As.

Sentencing is scheduled on April 8, according to State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former Navy lieutenant who also stands charged with coup d?etat for the ?Magdalo? group?s takeover on July 27, 2003, of the then Oakwood serviced apartments in Makati City, did not join the change of plea, Navera said.

In late 2004, the group of Maestrecampo and Gambala apologized to the government for their actions during the Oakwood mutiny, in which the Magdalo group denounced corruption in the government, including the military.

They subsequently issued another statement expressing support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s administration.

Fadullon said Maestrecampo, Gambala et al. had ?a change of heart, which to us is not surprising because they have shown remorse for the actions they?ve committed.?

But the Armed Forces, through its public information officer, Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, said the military itself was surprised by the change of plea.

?We were caught by surprise. But what is noteworthy is their courage to admit that they have committed something wrong and are ready to face the consequences of their actions,? Bacarro said.

Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, the Army chief and incoming AFP chief of staff, separately expressed admiration for the ?courage? of the nine officers. He also defended their decision, saying they were seeking ?closure to their case? so that they could move on with their lives.

"After five years, Gambala and the others accused of coup d'etat pleaded guilty, which is a step forward and a breakthrough in the case. We admire the courage of these men," Yano said.

"What made them decide to plead guilty was definitely a product of their own volition. Personal reasons may be taken into consideration for they have their family and their children too," he said.

Trillanes? lawyer, Reynaldo Robles, said he did not begrudge the other accused soldiers of their right to change their plea. But he expressed the belief that there was a ?negotiation? involved.

?Why would anyone plead guilty to a capital offense? We should not be surprised if today or tomorrow they are granted executive clemency or pardon,? Robles said.

His fellow lawyer, Ernesto Francisco, aired a similar view, saying it would be ?stupid? for respondents to plead guilty to an offense unless they were sure they would eventually be pardoned.

It was not the first time a Magdalo soldier changed his plea.

Last year, Army 1st Lt. Lawrence San Juan changed his plea from innocent to guilty of the lesser offense of conspiracy to commit coup d?etat.

?Thank you?

Fadullon denied that the change of plea had resulted from a negotiation.

?That is between the accused and their lawyers. We?re the prosecution panel, so we cannot control what they do,? he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

According to Fadullon, Maestrecampo approached him after the hearing and thanked him: ?Ironic, considering that he?s the accused and we?re the prosecutors. His exact words were: ?Thank you. After all this, it?s you who have been the honorable ones.??

Fadullon also said he believed that the change of plea would help the prosecution prove its case against the 22 other accused whose trial would continue.

He said the guilty plea was important because it came from the ?insiders? themselves.

?Trillanes and his group are still in denial that [the coup d?etat] did happen ? [He is] not man enough to face the consequences of his actions,? Fadullon said.

But Robles said the change of plea should have ?no effect? on Trillanes? case.

?The admission of a conspirator cannot be taken against the co-conspirator under the law,? he said.

Soliman no-show

Also at Wednesday?s hearing, Francisco presented as witness Ma. Lourdes Lim, Region 12 Director of the National Economic and Development Authority, who testified on the Liguasan Marsh Development Plan.

She took the place of NEDA Director General Augusto Santos, the original subject of the court subpoena.

Another defense witness, former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon ?Dinky? Soliman did not appear. Navera said Soliman had submitted a manifestation saying she still needed to study the relevance of her testimony.

The two witnesses? testimony was to have focused on the purported atrocities committed by the military in the South -- among the supposed reasons behind the takeover of Oakwood by Trillanes and the rest of the Magdalo group.

Francisco said the defense would prove that the takeover of Oakwood was ?a legitimate expression of grievances to focus public attention at corruption in the government,? and not an act to overthrow it.

In particular, Francisco said, the defense would prove ?certain incidents? in early February 2003 concerning AFP operations in the Buliok Complex in the Liguasan Marsh in Pikit, North Cotabato.

That military offensive, supposedly intended to apprehend the notorious Pentagon Gang, ?resulted in the killing of hundreds of civilians, the wounding of thousands more, and the displacement of at least 300,000 others,? he said. With reports from Nikko Dizon and Joel Guinto, INQUIRER.net