MANILA — Senator Antonio Trillanes IV will be immediately turned over to the military police once he is arrested following the invalidation of his amnesty, which reverted his status to an active military personnel, Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said Tuesday.
“Once he is apprehended, he will be turned over to the custody of the military police kasi nga nag-revert siya sa kanyang (because he he is already reverted to) active military status. We at the DND/AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) are ready to accept him. Naka-ready na ang kanyang (We have prepared his) detention facility, I believe the same one where he was committed to before. but we will ensure that all of his rights are protected once he’s taken into custody,” he added.
Prior to his election as senator in the 2007 polls, Trillanes was lieutenant senior grade of the Navy or equivalent to the Army rank of captain.
Based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572 signed on Aug. 31, Trillanes has no pending application for amnesty granted to all active and former personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and supporters who joined the July 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the February 2006 Marines stand-off and the Nov. 29, 2007 Manila Peninsula incident.
This, in effect, voided the amnesty extended to him by former President Benigno S. Aquino III through Proclamation 75 issued in November 2010.
Earlier, AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said the voiding of Trillanes’ amnesty automatically means that the court martial proceedings against the senator will be continued.
“Remember it was just stopped because of the supervening event that is in the case of the amnesty which was given to him and which is now at issue. That’s why nahinto ang ginagawang proceedings (the proceedings were stopped). Now, na-revoke iyong amnesty (that the amnesty was revoked) ab initio, meaning from the beginning, so he will be reverted to his status as active military personnel subject to military law and military discipline. Therefore, ‘yung (the) court martial will have to be reconstituted kasi yung ibang (because the other) members ng (of the) court martial have already retired in which case, the acting AFP chief-of-staff, Lt. Gen Salvador Mison. Jr (vice chief-of-staff), has already instructed the convening of a general court martial that shall be hearing the case of Lt. Trillanes,” he added. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
