Duterte tells AFP: Wait for court arrest order against Trillanes

No order for Trillanes’ arrest from Makati RTC

AMMAN – There will be no military arrest for embattled opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV – at least for now – as President Duterte has ordered the Armed Forces to comply with the judicial process and wait for the courts to issue a warrant for the arrest of his arch critic.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the announcement yesterday as dozens of soldiers and policemen remained positioned outside the Senate – apparently waiting for a signal to arrest the Navy officer-turned-politician.

“The President decided that he would abide with the rule of law. He will wait for the decision of the court, the regional trial court, on whether it will issue a warrant of arrest,” Roque said in a press briefing here in the Jordanian capital.

“He will allow the judicial process to proceed and he will await the issuance of the proper warrant of arrest, if there is indeed one to be issued, before Senator Trillanes is arrested and apprehended,” he added.

Roque said Duterte made the decision after a “lengthy discussion” with Cabinet members on the sidelines of his three-day official visit here.

The Department of National Defense (DND) confirmed deferring action on Trillanes’ case, but did not mention getting ordered by Duterte.

“The Department of National Defense has received a report that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition and injunction with a prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO),” it said in a statement explaining its position.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman, also did not mention Duterte’s purported order but stressed the military is united and committed to the chain of command and rule of law. He said the AFP is now in the process of constituting a General Court-Martial (GCM) to try Trillanes.

Before leaving the Philippines for Israel and later for Jordan, Duterte issued Proclamation No. 572 ordering Trillanes’ arrest by voiding his amnesty given by former president Benigno Aquino III in 2011. In his proclamation, dated Aug. 31, Duterte said Trillanes’ amnesty was void from the beginning because of his failure to meet some requirements for him to qualify for the program.

Trillanes, who led the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula Siege in 2007 to force the resignation of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for corruption and election fraud, claimed he is being persecuted for being critical of Duterte.

He had initially offered to turn himself in but later decided to seek Senate sanctuary – where he has been staying since Tuesday – when advised that the proclamation was illegal. Senate President Vicente Sotto III vowed not to let Trillanes get arrested at the Senate premises. 

His lawyers have turned to the Supreme Court for help to stop the Duterte administration from enforcing its proclamation and having him arrested for coup d’etat charges.

Malacañang previously said Trillanes’ separation from the military would not remove his liability or exempt him from court-martial proceedings. 

“It is clear that while we are waiting for the decision of the Regional Trial Court on whether to issue a warrant of arrest, the decision of Sen. Antonio Trillanes to  stay in the Senate has no basis. Perhaps it is just drama because no one will arrest him without a warrant of arrest,” Roque said.

No politics

Roque insisted that politics had nothing to do with the voiding of Trillanes’ amnesty as the President was just implementing the law. He claimed that politics entered the picture when the Aquino administration gave amnesty to the senator on a “silver platter.” 

The presidential spokesman believes the government has a strong case against Trillanes as the latter has not presented a copy of his official application for amnesty.

“The best evidence is the duly-received  application form. I cannot understand why he does not have a copy of it... That’s very important for someone who allegedly applied for amnesty for a capital offense that they should have a copy and I find it hard to believe that he does not have one,” Roque said.

He accused Trillanes of imagining things when the latter claimed that some active military personnel were opposed to Duterte’s actions. He said Duterte has done a lot for the military in the first two years of his presidency.

Roque said Trillanes’ anger at Duterte may have stemmed from the senator’s getting spurned as his running mate in 2016 elections. Duterte was then mayor of Davao City.

“If the President was indeed evil as Trillanes claimed him to be, why did he aspire to run as his vice president?” Roque said.

Roque, a former lawyer of some rebel soldiers who joined the anti-Arroyo uprisings, said he lost his admiration for the Magdalo when Trillanes became a “stooge” of Aquino.

Roque’s tirade against Trillanes was a complete turnaround from his earlier online posts, where he hailed the then rebel soldier as a hero.

With a warrantless arrest against Trillanes ruled out, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it has asked another Makati City court to issue a warrant of arrest and hold departure order (HDO) against the senator.

DOJ acting Prosecutor General Anthony Richard Fadullon said yesterday they filed the petitions this time with the Makati City Regional Trial Court (MCRTC) Branch 150 under Judge Elmo Alameda.

The filing of the motion at Branch 150 came three days after the filing of a similar motion before MCRTC Branch 148, presided over by Judge Andres Soriano.

Before he was given amnesty, Trillanes had a coup d’etat case for the Oakwood incident before Branch 148 and a rebellion case before Branch 150 for the Manila Peninsula incident.

The DOJ had to file the motions before the two Makati courts because the same basis was used to drop the coup d’etat and rebellion cases against Trillanes.

Fadullon said the filing of the motion before Branch 148 came first because as a prosecutor in the coup d’etat case, he still has records of the charges against the former Navy officer. The judge gave Trillanes five days to comment on the DOJ’s motion. The first hearing on the case was set for Sept. 13

‘Doesn’t follow’

The DOJ official also expressed belief Trillanes’ petitioning the SC for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Proclamation 572 would not stop the two Makati courts from coming out with their decisions. 

“It does not follow. The filing is different from granting. He filed for petition for TRO and until and unless it is granted there is no reason for the RTC not to continue with the proceedings because these are criminal cases,” he added.

Sources said Trillanes’ SC case had been raffled off to Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, the third most senior member of the SC, following Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, said Trillanes’ seeking help from the SC was a “proper move.”

He said the senator should be given credit for turning to the court for help “instead of arguing his case in the media.” Trillanes has been arguing his case before the media since the issuance of Proclamation 572 by Duterte.

He also laughed off Trillanes’ threat to get back at him and other officials if and when Duterte’s term is cut short for some reason. “He just probably needs a lot of sleep,” Guevarra told reporters.

Duterte’s proclamation revoking Trillanes amnesty was made public last Monday. In one of his press briefings, Trillanes vowed to hold Guevarra, Solicitor General Jose Calida and defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong accountable for his current predicament.

Guevarra was among the officials who confirmed the authenticity of Proclamation 572, which was published in a newspaper.

He said his only role was to explain the contents of the proclamation that nullified Trillanes amnesty. “I just explained to the people on what proclamation means,” he said.

The justice chief also appealed to the public to stop voicing opinions on the issue as Trillanes had already filed a petition with the SC questioning the legality of Duterte’s order.

He lamented that just about everybody has been stating his or her own interpretations of the law without seeing documents related to the issue.

“We can be slapped with contempt of court if we continue to discuss this matter, legal issues which are already pending before the Supreme Court. So I respectfully ask everyone to please stop commenting on these issues already,” he said. “He will be given his day in court.”

A former chief magistrate, meanwhile, said the government should be clear about what violation or oversight was committed in the granting of amnesty to Trillanes.

“The issue here is if there’s violation of amnesty granted by President Aquino to rebels. It’s a factual issue,” former chief justice Reynato Puno said. Puno is also a member of the consultative committee tasked to review the 1987 Constitution.

Former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., also a Concom member, echoed Puno’s position.

“Anyone who is granted conditional amnesty must abide by the conditions. Did the senator not comply with the conditions of his amnesty? That will have to be proven,” Pimentel said. - With Robertzon Ramirez, Evelyn Macairan, Jaime Laude, Emmanuel Tupas