VOCAL government critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, through his legal counsel, asked the Supreme Court on Thursday, September 6, to stop the implementation of the presidential proclamation revoking the amnesty granted to him.
His legal counsel Reynaldo Robles filed before the Supreme Court a petition for certiorari and prohibition to challenge the constitutionality of Proclamation 572.
This proclamation, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on August 31, declared the amnesty granted to Trillanes as void ab initio (from the beginning) for supposed failure to submit an official amnesty application form and express an admission of guilt over his involvement in the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003 and the Manila Peninsula Siege in November 2007.
The same proclamation also ordered the arrest of Trillanes. The Department of Justice and the military tribunal were also directed to pursue the criminal and administrative charges against Trillanes.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. maintained that there was nothing political in the revocation of Trillanes's amnesty.
"Anong political oppression ang sinasabi nila? Wala ngang tigil ang banat niya sa Presidente. Siya ang patunay na gumagana ang demokrasya sa Pilipinas dahil walang tigil ang banat niya sa Presidente at sa pamilya ng Presidente. So wala pong katuturan 'yun ," Duterte's mouthpiece said.
(What political oppression are they saying? He (Trillanes) persistently launches tirades against the President. He is a proof that democracy prevails in the Philippines because he continues to slam the President and the President's family. So it has no point at all.)
"Gumagana po ang mga institusyon natin. Patunay na gumagana ang institusyon eh siya mismo nag-punta na sa kataas-taasang hukuman, ((Our institution is working. A proof that the institution is working is that he goes to the Supreme Court)," he added, referring to Trillanes's move to seek Supreme Court's nullifcation of Duterte's order.
Roque claimed it was inappropriate for Trillanes to go to the Supreme Court, especially that the nullification of the senator's amnesty was based on facts.
"Unang-una, naku, parang mali iyang ginawa niya dahil paktuwal ito e. Meron bang application? Meron bang pag-amin? Eh lahat iyan, paktuwal. Parang hindi naman dapat madinig iyan ng Korte Suprema," he said.
(First and foremost, what he did was wrong because the revocation has factual basis. Is there an application? Is there an admission? It's all factual. The Supreme Court should not be the one to hear his case.)
"Walang aplikasyon na nahanap ang gobyerno sa official file, walang tunay na pag-aamin sa krimen ng kudeta na dalawang beses niyang ginawa, at saka syempre, walang pagsisisi at 'yung walang tigil na paglabag sa batas... Pananagutan po ang nais nating mangyari, hindi po pipwede na ang isang tao na gumawa ng krimen ay hindi mapapanagot sa kanyang gawain."
(The government did not find his application in the official file. There's no admission to the crime of coup d'etat he did twice, and of course, there is no repentance and he keeps on violating the law... we want him to be held accountable. We will not allow any person to escape from the crimes he did.)
Trillanes has branded the proclamation as a "clear case of political persecution" while some members of the House of Representatives have urged Duterte to recall it.
As of Thursday afternoon, Trillanes is holed up at his office in the Senate to avoid arrest. Military personnel backed up by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) agents are waiting to arrest him.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, however, has declared that no arrest will be made inside the Senate and while session is ongoing. (VoxPop Philippines)