Makati court defers arrest of Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines — Another court in Makati City has denied the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s motion to issue an arrest warrant and travel ban against opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV without any hearing.

Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 yesterday issued its order setting a hearing on Friday at 9 a.m. for the DOJ’s urgent omnibus motion for the issuance of an arrest warrant and hold departure order against Trillanes.

“The court is not persuaded with the argument of the prosecution (the DOJ) that its omnibus motion should not be set for hearing and should be acted by this court ex-parte,” the order signed by Presiding Judge Elmo Alameda said.

An ex-parte motion means the action sought will not need any litigation or hearing, according to clerk of court Diosfa Valencia.

Doing so would “definitely prejudice the right of the accused to due process,” the court order said, referring to Trillanes.

It also noted that Trillanes had filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the legality of President Duterte’s Proclamation 572 declaring the amnesty, granted by former president Benigno Aquino III in 2011, as void from the start and ordering Trillanes’ arrest.

“The court has to observe judicial courtesy because there is a pending motion filed by Sen. Trillanes before the Supreme Court,” Valencia explained. “If the Supreme Court ruled that there would be no proceedings at all before lower courts, then we will abide.”

The same court tried the rebellion case filed against Trillanes in relation to the siege at The Peninsula hotel in Makati City in 2007.

The DOJ, in its current omnibus motion, wanted the Makati court to issue an arrest warrant and travel ban against Trillanes as he only posted bail in 2010.

Aquino later granted amnesty to Trillanes, and the same court dismissed the rebellion case months later.

On Friday, the Makati City RTC Branch 148 also set a hearing on similar motions filed by the DOJ on Wednesday.

Trillanes ‘won’t fall for trap’

As this developed, Trillanes yesterday said he would not fall into the trap set by Duterte for him to be arrested despite assurances that the latter would abide by the rule of law.

Trillanes said Duterte has “deniability” despite his assurances that he would wait for the resolution of the courts on the petition to nullify his proclamation revoking the amnesty granted to the senator.

He said based on his “engagements” and “validation” with his sources in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, there is still a standing warrant of arrest for him held by the military.

“Probably, they’re trying to trick me into that trap but I won’t fall for that,” Trillanes told reporters.

The senator has not left his office for a week now since the proclamation came out.

Trillanes said Duterte was “notorious” for lying to the public on many important issues.

He also denied anew he was plotting to oust Duterte, saying he was not recruiting rebels in the military. He expressed doubts that Duterte’s claim of a destabilization campaign was validated by the intelligence community.

IBP backs Trillanes

Meanwhile, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has rallied behind Trillanes in questioning the presidential proclamation that voided his amnesty grant.

In a statement yesterday, the leadership of the mandatory organization of lawyers in the country supported the claim of the opposition senator that Proclamation 572 is unconstitutional.

“Arresting and incarcerating Senator Trillanes for offenses dismissed by amnesty runs roughshod over the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy that no person shall be held to answer twice for the same criminal offense,” the IBP board of governors led by its national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo said.

The IBP hinged its position on the dismissal of the coup d’etat case before Makati RTC Branch 148 for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the rebellion case before Makati RTC Branch 150 for the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege against Trillanes, despite the pronouncements by the DOJ that such dismissal was invalid since it was based on the amnesty grant that is now declared void ab initio or from the beginning.

“It is also a matter of public record that the criminal cases for which Senator Trillanes stood trial have been dismissed with finality by our courts precisely on the basis of amnesty. The IBP views with deep concern the position being peddled to the public that the records of the Executive Branch can be used to overturn final dismissals of criminal charges by our courts,” the 50,000-strong group explained.

The IBP further accused the DOJ of forum shopping by filing motions before the two Makati court branches for the arrest of Trillanes as well as revival of criminal cases and issuance of hold departure order against him.

Lastly, the IBP called on the courts “to resist collateral attacks against its judgments and creeping incursions on its independence.”

“An independent and impartial judiciary remains the most powerful bastion that protects our cherished constitutional rights against excesses of political power,” it added.

The IBP’s statement supported the arguments raised by Trillanes in his petition against Proclamation 572, which the SC is set to tackle today.

‘Looming dictatorship’

Caloocan Bishop Emeritus Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. yesterday urged the Catholic faithful to “pray in action” against a looming dictatorship and have the “moral courage” to resist the “sea of wickedness” and abuse of power under the Duterte administration.

“Neutrality is wickedness. To be Christian is to stand for and speak the truth,” the bishop said.

Citing the Exodus in the Old Testament, Iñiguez called on Catholics to have the courage like the Hebrews when they crossed the Red Sea, which was parted by the prophet Moses, to escape the wrath of the Egyptian pharaoh.

“In the Old Testament, there is a story of courage among a people. The Hebrews, enslaved and abused by the Egyptian Pharaoh, were gripped by fear from following the prophet Moses to cross the Red Sea. Eventually, inspired with faith, courage won in their hearts,” he said.

The “Red Sea” before us now, according to the prelate, is composed of the blood of innocents amid extrajudicial killings in the administration’s war on drugs as well as the death of democracy in the government’s abuse of power.

“Before us today is our Red Sea, made by the blood of the innocents and Lady Liberty... If we are made in the image and likeness of God, then we must inspire courage among each other, and with faith hold out our staff and part this sea of wickedness,” he said.

Iñiguez made the statement yesterday as he expressed support for Trillanes and lashed out at Duterte’s “attempt to strike a final death blow to dissent, democracy and to our nation’s moral fiber.” – With Paolo Romero, Edu Punay, Marc Jayson Cayabyab