2 generals, 7 others involved in mutinies apply for amnesty as deadline nears

MANILA, Philippines—Brigadier General Danilo Lim, General Renato Miranda and seven others implicated in mutinies against the previous administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo filed for amnesty Tuesday, nine days before the deadline.

In a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Lim said he filed for amnesty so he could serve the current administration.

“If there is something I want to achieve with my application for amnesty, it is not to obliterate any legal remembrance of my alleged transgressions, something I have not been proven guilty of,” Lim said in a prepared statement he read during the briefing.

“What I want to eradicate is the gridlock that is preventing me from rendering my all-out support for the government’s reform agenda, something that we ardently fought for under the tumultuous reign of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” he added.

Besides Miranda and Lim, others who filed for amnesty were (Ret.) Colonel Raffy Galvez, (Ret.) General Jake Malajacan, (Ret.) Colonel Allan Paje and Lim’s civilian supporters Atty. Christopher Belmonte, Jose Araneta Albert and Jaime Regalado. Miranda was not able to attend the filing of amnesty because his blood pressure shot up Tuesday morning, Lim said.

The deadline for filing of amnesty is on March 31, 2011.

Lim earlier refused to file for amnesty due to the “admission of guilt” clause included in the amnesty.

Lim said that though he filed for amnesty, he would still seek clarification from the Department of Justice regarding the “admission of guilt” clause.

“This initiative must not be equated to my admission of wrongdoings, which I allegedly committed against the illegitimate Arroyo government. I maintain that such an unwarranted demand to extract from me a confession for a crime, of which I have not been convicted, will only exonerate Mrs. Arroyo and her colossal transgressions against the people and the country,” Lim added in his statement.

Meanwhile, when asked whether he will accept any government position from President Benigno Aquino III, Lim said he will study any offers given to him.

“Whether I’m in or out of government, I’m willing to help this government,” Lim told reporters, adding that he believed in the honesty and sincerity of the Aquino administration to eradicate corruption in government.

Lim faced mutiny and rebellion charges for his participation in the 2006 Marines stand-off in Fort Bonifacio and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.