PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has issued a proclamation revoking the amnesty granted to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, one of his most bitter critics.
Under Proclamation 572 signed on August 31, Duterte also ordered that Trillanes, a former Navy officer who was among the leaders of the Oakwood Mutiny in 2003, be arrested and charged criminally and administratively.
"As a consequence, the Department of Justice and Court Martial of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are ordered to pursue all criminal and administrative cases filed against former LTSG Antonio Trillanes [IV] in relation to the Oakwood Mutiny and the Manila Peninsula Incident," the proclamation read.
"The Armed Forces of the Philippines are ordered to employ all lawful means to apprehend former LTSG Antonio Trillanes [IV] so that he can be recommitted to the detention facility where he had been incarcerated for him to stand trial for the crimes he is charged with," it added.
The implementation of Duterte's proclamation would take effect "immediately."
Under this new Proclamation, Duterte argued that Trillanes's amnesty granted by the former President Benigno Aquino III through Proclamation 75 signed on November 24, 2010 was "void ab initio (from the beginning)."
"The grant of amnesty to former LTSG Antonio Trillanes IV under Proclamation 75 is declared void ab initio because he did not comply with the minimum requirements to qualify under the Amnesty Proclamation," the President said in the proclamation.
Aquino first signed Proclamation 50 on October 11, 2010, granting amnesty to Trillanes and other soldiers involved in the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003, the Marine standoff in February 2006, and the Manila Peninsula Siege in November 2007.
However, lawmakers had questioned the "effectivity clause" of Proclamation 50.
Aquino then signed Proclamation 75 in November 2010, amending Proclamation 50.
Aquino's proclamation effectively absolved Trillanes and other military officers of any criminal liability in the three uprisings against former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Trillanes was in military detention for his involvement in the Oakwood Mutiny and the Manila Peninsula Siege.
In 2017, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo sought the review of Trillanes's amnesty to check its validity.
Trillanes, a vocal critic of Duterte, has repeatedly accused the President and his family of stashing more than P2 billion in clandestine bank accounts.
Duterte, however, has belied the opposition senator's claim. (VoxPop Philippines)
