DOJ seeks arrest order vs Trillanes from another court, for another case

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:41 p.m.) — After failing to immediately secure a warrant against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in a coup d’etat case they say is still pending, state prosecutors on Friday are hoping for an alias warrant and travel ban against the lawmaker from a different Makati court.

This time, the motion is addressed to the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150, where Trillanes was being tried over the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege, to issue the orders.

According to a 2011 ruling penned by Judge Elmo Alameda, the case was dismissed following the grant of amnesty to the senator.

President Rodrigo Duterte, through Proclamation 572, said that the amnesty was "void from the beginning" because, he said, Trillanes failed to comply with the requirements.

The order, published on September 4, also directed the Department of Justice and a court martial of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to pursue all criminal and administrative cases filed against Trillanes in connection with the Oakwood Mutiny in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.

In their four-page “Very Urgent Ex-Parte Omnibus Motion for the Issuance of a Hold Departure Order and Warrant of Arrest,” the prosecutors pointed out that Trillanes posted bail on the rebellion case on July 15, 2010.

Four months later, President Benigno Aquino III granted amnesty to active and former personnel of the AFP, PNP and their supporters over the Oakwood mutiny, Marines standoff and the Manila Peninsula incident.

They noted that the court, on Sept. 7, 2011, granted Trillanes’ “Motion to Dismiss” pursuant to the grant of amnesty. The goverment argues that the amnesty was declared void and that trial should continue.

“It is clear that this instant case is still pending with this Honorable Court, as the prosecution has yet to present its evidence in chief insofar as accused Trillanes is concerned,” they said.

Makati court sets hearing on September 13

On the afternoon of September 4, state prosecutors filed a “Very Urgent Ex-Parte Omnibus Motion for the Issuance of Hold Departure Order and Alias Warrant,” before Makati RTC Branch 148.

An alias warrant contains the updated information on an accused person. It is issued if the original warrant of arrest is returned without being served.

The state prosecutors, in their motion, said that since the court issued commitment orders in the 2003 and 2007 cases, “this application for an alias warrant of arrest no longer needs a hearing.”

They also argued that the Branch 148 has yet to promulgate a decision, according to its order dated Dec. 16, 2010—a claim contradicted by the same court's ruling dated Sept. 21, 2011 that dismissed the coup d’etat case pursuant to the amnesty.

READ: A duel of documents: DOJ, Trillanes cite different rulings

Presiding Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano, on September 5, however, did not immediately grant the prosecutors' motion and instead set a hearing on September 13.

The judge also gave Trillanes five days to answer the prosecution’s motion.

Trillanes’ lawyer, Renaldo Robles, told reporters on Thursday that they will “honor the jurisdiction of the RTC by filing a reply."

Trillanes’ camp also elevated their case to the Supreme Court, as they sought the issuance for the immediate relief of a temporary restraining order to stop the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police from acting on Proclamation 572 and apprehending him. — Kristine Joy Patag