Former Air Force Col. Eduardo “Red” Kapunan is in custody in connection with the murder of labor leader Rolando Olalia and his driver, Leonor Alay-ay, 26 years ago.
But why only Kapunan?
Why isn’t Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, one of Kapunan’s co-accused, not charged with the twin murders?
It is highly unlikely that Kapunan, if ever he took part in the murders of Olalia and Alay-ay, did it on his own.
Kapunan was a member of RAM (Reform the Armed Forces Movement, renamed Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa) triumvirate that included Honasan and former Air Force Col. Tirso Legaspi.
If ever the plot to eliminate Olalia was hatched by RAM, then Honasan and Legaspi should also be charged, along with Kapunan.
Olalia, leader of the left-leaning labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, was suspected of creating trouble in the newly established government of President Cory Aquino.
* * *
Honasan was the primus inter pares (first among equals) in the RAM triumvirate.
The enlisted personnel who were implicated in the murders of Olalia and Alay-ay would not have followed orders if they were given only by Kapunan or Legaspi.
History tells us that Honasan, who led several coup attempts against the first Aquino administration, was the recognized leader of RAM.
Kapunan and Legaspi played secondary roles.
It’s unfair for Kapunan to be singled out in the murders of Olalia and Alay-ay while Honasan is scot-free.
* * *
I came to know Kapunan years before Edsa I when I covered the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the Armed Forces for the defunct Times Journal.
Red Kapunan, who was detailed with the Office of the Minister of Defense under Juan Ponce Enrile, struck me as a patriot.
His passion, he told me once, was serving “God, country and the Filipino people.”
* * *
Very little is known about Kapunan, who has a self-effacing nature.
Honasan and Legaspi were his classmates at the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1971.
Honasan owes Kapunan his life.
During an intense battle in Sulu province, then Lieutenant Honasan, a platoon leader, was hit in the thigh and was bleeding profusely.
If he was not rushed to a hospital, Honasan would bleed to death.
Kapunan, a helicopter pilot, learned about his classmate’s plight, and volunteered to pluck him out of the battle zone.
Disobeying orders from superiors, Kapunan flew a helicopter, and under heavy fire from Moro rebels, took Honasan out of the battle field and brought him to a military hospital.
* * *
Does a condominium developer have any right to prevent a unit occupant, who has already fully paid for his unit and who already has a title to the same, from making improvements on his home?
This is a question now pending in the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), an agency under the Office of the President.
A case against St. Francis Square Development, builder of the posh BSA Twin Towers in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City, was filed by businessman Richard King in the HLURB.
King, who owns two units in the high-class condominium, wants to add a loft or mezzanine to his unit on the 19th floor.
But St. Francis Square Developer told him he is not allowed to do it.
King then brought the case to the HLURB.
The businessman, however, is worried that he may not have a fair hearing.
You see, the developer has hired the services of a law firm where Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa is reportedly one of the partners.
The HLURB, as stated earlier, is under the Office of the President.