P-Noy now hands off on Trillanes case

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has decided to steer clear of the case of detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, whose motion to attend the opening of the Senate session on July 26 was denied by the Makati City regional trial court.

“As regards the DOJ (Department of Justice), there is nothing that can be done as far as Senator Trillanes’ case is concerned. The last step is a memoranda from both parties, from the defense and the prosecution, in effect summation of respective cases that is properly in the hands of the judiciary, under the regional trial court,” Mr. Aquino said yesterday.

The President’s call for a review of Trillanes’ coup d’ etat case was criticized as alleged interference in judicial proceedings.

There were also speculations that Mr. Aquino was favoring Trillanes so he would support the Liberal Party’s bet for Senate president, Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

Mr. Aquino also refused to talk about any amnesty for soldiers accused of mutiny, saying it would need an act of Congress while pardon would entail a final conviction, emphasizing that rules under the Constitution must be followed.

RTC Branch 148 denied Trillanes’ petition to attend the Senate session, citing security risks and a previous ruling of the Supreme Court.

Trillanes’ lawyer Reynaldo Robles was referring to the senator’s motion filed last July 2 asking for a leave-from-detention to attend the opening session of the Senate.

He said Judge Oscar Pimentel denied the motion, citing an earlier SC ruling that kept Trillanes from going to the Senate five days a week.

But Robles insisted that the situation this time was different because Trillanes was only asking the court for five hours outside detention.

The senator’s lawyer earlier said that his clients’ presence during the opening session is “critical” because this time, only 21 out of the 24 senators would likely be attending that day.

Yesterday, Trillanes filed before RTC Branch 148 a motion for reconsideration.

“The instant motion for leave involves a simple request for leave of court to be allowed to attend only one session of the Senate on 26 July 2010. As can be seen from the foregoing, the earlier Omnibus Motion and the current motion for leave of the accused-movant are substantially and dramatically different from each other,” the petition reads.

Expected to be absent on that day, apart from Trillanes, are Senator Panfilo Lacson and the President.

Lacson left the country early this year before an arrest warrant was issued against him in connection with the Dacer-Corbito double murder case, while Mr. Aquino automatically lost his senatorial seat when he won the presidency in the May 10 polls. With Jose Rodel Clapano