Ombudsman clears Noy, Trillanes of treason

MANILA, Philippines -  The Office of the Ombudsman has found former president Benigno Aquino III and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV innocent of treason and espionage for engaging in backchannel negotiations with China to resolve the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal standoff in 2012.

In a 16-page decision dated June 7, a copy of which was obtained yesterday, the ombudsman ruled that the so-called “Brady notes” disclosed by former senator Juan Ponce Enrile contained nothing but hearsay and “should not be given evidentiary weight.”

The Brady notes were the supposed confidential information of former Philippine ambassador to China Sonia Brady regarding Trillanes’ alleged clandestine meetings or secret talks with Beijing.

Trillanes allegedly said nobody cared about Panatag Shoal in the Philippines and that the military was not capable of defending its own territory because it “needs major upgrading.”

“These insufficiently prove that (Senator) Trillanes disclosed to the Chinese vital information related to the defense system of the Philippines with the intent or reason to believe that such information would be used by China to the injury of the Philippines,” Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and the anti-graft agency’s investigators said.

In their complaint filed in May 2016, former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Roberto Lastimoso, former lawmaker Ronald Adamat, educator Enrico Sampang, retired judge Moslemen Macarambon and Dioscoro Esteban Jr. accused Aquino and Trillanes of violating Articles 114 and 117 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), which defines and punishes the criminal acts of treason and espionage.

Aquino was charged for allowing Trillanes to do the backchannel negotiations.

The complainants claimed that based on the Brady notes, Trillanes himself confirmed that he acted as a backchannel negotiator with China and his actions worked in favor of the Chinese because of his statements.

In its decision, the ombudsman said backchannel negotiations with China could not be construed as “giving aid to enemy.”

“As a result of the intense standoff in April and May 2012 between Chinese and Philippines vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, (President) Aquino’s action of exploring means of peacefully settling the ongoing issue with China was for the interest of the Philippines. It is an inherent presidential power to pursue negotiations with other states,” the anti-graft agency explained. 

“On the other hand, (Senator) Trillanes merely acted under (President) Aquino’s instruction to negotiate with Chinese representatives in order to ease the escalating tension between the two states,” the ombudsman said.

Ombudsman investigators emphasized it was not true that the backchannel talks resulted in China’s aggressive posturing in the West Philippine Sea because as early as May 2011 or way before the secret meetings in May 2012, Beijing’s construction activities in the area were already ongoing.

Aquino, in defense, told the ombudsman that the treason and espionage complaints were based solely on hearsay and unverified evidence and completely devoid of factual allegations to support the charges.

The former commander-in-chief also argued that there was nothing illegal or improper about exploring negotiations with China or its representatives whether it would be done formally or informally.

He also said it was not illegal to authorize any government official to initiate discussions with China because as then president, he was vested by the Constitution with the authority to pursue negotiations with other countries, a power which he could delegate.

Aquino said the only act imputed to him in the treason and espionage charges was his granting of clearance to Trillanes whose actions did not even show that he “adhered to the enemy or (gave) them aid or comfort” considering that the country was not at war with any state and had no enemy to speak of.

As for the charge of espionage, he said such accusations were also baseless as complainants failed to allege that he personally disclosed any confidential information relative to the defense of the Philippines to a representative of China.

Aquino said the alleged information supposedly divulged by Trillanes were not even secret or confidential in nature including the fact that “the Philippines needs to modernize and upgrade its Armed Forces.”

Trillanes, for his part, admitted that he was indeed tasked as a backchannel negotiator with China “with the sole and specific mission of de-escalating the tension between the two countries as a result of the Scarborough Shoal standoff between Chinese and Philippine vessels.”

He said he was asked to help and had 14 meetings with Chinese representatives and succeeded in his task “without giving up an inch of our territory and without compromising the interest of our country.”

Trillanes denied having said what he was accused of saying in the Brady notes because it would be counter-productive to make such statements at a time when negotiations with China were ongoing.

“Treason is a war crime. There can be no treason if there is no war,” he said, adding that the complainants failed to prove the elements of the crime and comply with the “restrictive two-witness rule to prove overt acts of treason.”

As to the charge of espionage, he said the allegation has no basis because when he spoke with Brady in August 2012, there were no Chinese representatives involved to which confidential information could be relayed.