Trillanes camp ready to avail legal remedies amid void amnesty — Alejano
MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV will avail all legal remedies to counter the claims of the Duterte administration that the senator did not comply with minimum requirements for his amnesty grant.
Rep. Gary Alejano (Magdalo Party-list) said that he and other officers of Magdalo were in the Senate yesterday to show support for Trillanes and discuss what actions to take next.
The lawmaker noted that there are loopholes in the proclamation of President Rodrigo Duterte nullifying the amnesty granted to Trillanes.
The president also directed the military and the police to arrest Trillanes in connection to the charges filed against him for leading coup attempts against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"On the part of the civilian courts, all cases were already dismissed against Sen. Trillanes, against us and on the part of the court martial... they're trying to go around the system," Alejano said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum in Manila.
Alejano also pointed out that Trillanes was not a part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines anymore when he was imprisoned.
'Don't follow illegal orders'
The Magdalo lawmaker also appealed to the military and the police not to follow illegal orders as Duterte's proclamation has no basis.
Alejano stressed that there is no warrant of arrest and there are no charges against Trillanes.
"Therefore, the order to the AFP and PNP to apprehend Senator Trillanes is an illegal one. I call on the AFP and PNP to not follow illegal orders," Alejano said in a statement released Wednesday morning.
The lawmaker reminded the military and the police that they are sworn to uphold and protect the Constitution.
"The AFP and PNP are not private armies of Duterte. They are the army of and for the Filipino people. Do not stain the integrity of the military and police before the Filipino people by acting as pawns to a dictator," he said.
Meanwhile, a Makati court has set a hearing for the issuance of a hold departure order and an alias warrant against Trillanes.
Presiding Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano has scheduled the hearing on September 13 despite the plea of state prosecutors that a hearing is not needed for a warrant.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has placed Trillanes under his custody to prevent his arrest.
President Rodrigo Duterte has revoked amnesty granted to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in 2011 in relation to his involvement in mutinies against the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2003, 2006 and 2007.
Duterte claims in Proclamation 572 that Trillanes "did not comply with the minimum requirements to qualify under the Amnesty Proclamation."
President Benigno Aquino III granted the amnesty through a proclamation in 2010 that Congress concurred in.
The amnesty proclamation covered active and former police and military personnel and "[extinguished] any criminal liability for acts committed in connection, incident or related to the July 27, 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, the February 2006 Marines Stand-Off and the November 29, 2007 Peninsula Manila Hotel Incident without prejudice to the grantee’s civil liability for injuries or damages caused to private persons."
Trillanes, a lieutenant, senior grade, at the time of the Oakwood Mutiny, applied for amnesty in 2011.
The Court of Appeals reaffirms the ruling of a Makati court judge to deny the government's appeal to arrest former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV over a revived coup d'etat case.
The CA rules that Judge Andres Soriano did not commit grave use of discretion, contrary to the claim of the Office of the Solicitor General.
"Therefore, it cannot be said that the grant of amnesty in favor of private respondent was validly revoked. As a result, the charges against private respondent in connection with the offenses "forgotten" or forgiven by the amnesty must be necessarily dropped," the CA says.
The continuation of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV's trial for a rebellion case has been moved to May as the Court of Appeals denies his petition for a TRO against it.
The CA denied the petition for TRO for the trial at Makati RTC Br. 150 saying doing so would mean granting the main prayer without trial.
Court of Appeals denies Sen. Trillanes’ plea for TRO vs rebellion trial at Makati court. Court says issuing a halt order would mean granting prayer for main petition, without trial. The court ordered Makati Judge 150 Alameda, DOJ to comment on the senator’s plea. | @kristinepatag pic.twitter.com/PNq6iS3lSi
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) March 19, 2019
The court has also directed Makati RTC Br. 150 Judge Elmo Alameda to comment on Trillanes' petition.
The rebellion case is over Trillanes' participation in the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege, for which amnesty was granted in 2011. President Rodrigo Duterte has voided the amnesty.
The Department of Justice has transmitted to the Office of the Solicitor General the order by Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 denying its motion for reconsideration on an earlier decision not to issue an arrest warrant for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV over a coup d'etat case it dismissed in 2011.
The court has stood firm on its decision that Trillanes applied for amnesty and acknowledged guilt in mutinies against the Arroyo administration.
It also stood by the same decision that found that Proclamation 75, which voided Trillanes' amnesty, is legal and is within the president's powers to issue.
"We are transmitting the Joint Order for your office to consider the filing a petition for certiorari with the higher courts witin the time allowed by the Rules of court, " Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon, OIC prosecutor general, says in his letter.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo had initially said Solicitor General Jose Calida would go straight to the Court of Appeals and not wait for the Makati court to reconsider.
The Department of Justice will file a motion for partial consideration at Makati RTC Branch 148 by Friday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra tells reporters.
The motion will only ask the court to reconsider "only insofar as it found that sen trillanes had sufficiently shown that he filed his certificate of amnesty, and that therefore it follows that he also admitted his guilt."
The Palace had earlier said Solicitor General Jose Calida was already preparing a petition questioning the Makati court's resolution before the Court of Appeals.
Lawyer Rhodora Peralta, Makati RTC Br148 clerk of court, confirms that Judge Andres Soriano has issued a resolution on a Department Justice plea to issue a warrant of arrest against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
She says they will not give out copies until parties of the case receive the resolution first.
Makati RTC Br148 Clerk of Court lawyer Rhodora Peralta confirms that Judge Andres Soriano has issued resolution, but a copy has yet to be given to parties. She said they won’t give out copies until parties of the case receive the resolution. | via @kristinepatag pic.twitter.com/Sh4NYmz0CO
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) October 22, 2018
She refuses to give details on what the resolution says.
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