Trillanes arraignment set

MANILA, Philippines — A few days after releasing the warrants of arrest against former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and 10 others, a metropolitan trial court in Quezon City has set the arraignment of the accused for next month. 

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters that Trillanes and 10 others accused for conspiracy to commit sedition in relation to the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos will be arraigned on March 17. 

The “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos were produced during the mid-term elections allegedly to discredit President Duterte, his family and his allies by linking them to illegal drug activities.  

The Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 138 ordered on Friday the arrest of Trillanes along with Peter Joemel Advincula, who claimed to be the hooded man known as Bikoy in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos. 

A certain Monique, Jonnel Sangalang, Yolanda Ong, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Fr. Albert Alejo, Vicente Romano III, Joel Saracho, Boom Enriquez and dismissed police official Eduardo Acierto were also named in the warrant. 

Villanueva and Alejo posted bail last Friday while Advincula is reportedly set to surrender next week to post bail.

Trillanes said he will face the charges when he returns to Manila from his trip abroad. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) explained that the charges against Trillanes and 10 others were filed before the MTC as it has jurisdiction over the maximum penalty for the crime of conspiracy to commit sedition, which is four years imprisonment. 

In another development, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Olivia Torrevillas said there is no politics involved in handling the complaint against Trillanes, as she emphasized that they studied his evidence against Advincula and vice versa. 

Advincula is the witness of the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) in the sedition complaint it filed against Trillanes and several others.   

“We considered the affidavits submitted by Bikoy, which is appended to the complaint filed by the PNP-CIDG. We also considered the affidavits submitted by Bikoy and submitted by Trillanes during the preliminary investigation,” Torrevillas said. 

But Torrevillas said that they are considering taking Advincula as their witness against Trillanes and 10 others, being the only witness of the CIDG. 

The CIDG has indicted Trillanes and 10 others for conspiracy to commit sedition while it cleared Vice President Leni Robredo and other members of the Liberal Party (LP) and some members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). 

Assistant State Prosecutor Michael John Humarang said Robredo and the members of the LP as well as CBCP members were not charged since the CIDG has failed to secure “corroborative evidence” that would support their claims. 

He added that the counter-affidavits of Robredo and several others were “meritorious.”