Court defers ruling on Trillanes coup case

MANILA, Philippines — The regional trial court (RTC) handling the coup d’état case of opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV deferred issuing anew yesterday the warrant of arrest and hold departure order against the lawmaker.

Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano, who presides over Makati RTC Branch 148, said he could not as yet issue the orders as asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ), although he might be able to rule on this motion by next week.

Trillanes was charged with coup d’état before the Makati court for his involvement in the July 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny for which he was detained for several years until former president Benigno Aquino III granted him amnesty. 

That amnesty became the basis of then RTC Branch 148 Judge Oscar Pimentel to dismiss the case, which is now being revived by the DOJ after President Duterte voided the grant through Proclamation 572. 

In nullifying the amnesty last Aug. 31, Duterte cited the senator’s failure to comply with several requirements for the grant. This decision also prompted the DOJ to file a motion asking for a warrant of arrest and hold departure order.

Although Trillanes opposed the move, state prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon and four others maintained that Trillanes failed to admit his guilt to the offense and submit an application form as documentary proof during the pre-trial for his rebellion case held at Makati RTC Branch 150.

Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati RTC Branch 150 ordered Trillanes’ arrest on Tuesday on the basis that he failed to present his actual application form during a pre-trial on Sept. 14. 

Trillanes has voluntarily surrendered to the police and posted a bail of P200,000.

Meanwhile, several Makati RTC judges, including Alameda and Soriano, paid Chief Justice Teresita de Castro a courtesy call shortly before lunch yesterday.

It was not clear what the meeting was about but Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Francis Escudero, in separate statements, have called on the high court to act swiftly on Trillanes’ petition to declare Proclamation 572 as unconstitutional.

“The Supreme Court (SC), as the final arbiter of justice, should rule on the constitutionality of Proclamation 572 as soon as possible. I am confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the rule of law and decide against (it),” Drilon said.

Escudero said he hopes the SC will issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the possible arrest warrant to be issued by Soriano while it is still deliberating on Trillanes’ petition.

“The right of a person to liberty cannot be made to depend on the Court’s absence or lack of action on an issue,” Escudero said.

He added that, without an immediate issuance of a TRO from the SC, the President’s proclamation remains valid and can be used as basis for the RTC to issue orders and decisions, such as the arrest of Trillanes.

Trillanes’ lawyer Reynaldo Robles, however, told reporters they are still deliberating on whether or not to make representations with the SC on the pending Makati RTC cases.  – With Paolo Romero