Move to arrest Trillanes junked

But Makati court upholds Duterte's Proclamation 572

The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 148 on Monday junked the "very urgent" exparte omnibus motion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking the arrest and issuance of a holddeparture order (HDO) against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

In the same decision, the Makati court "sustained the factual bases for the issuance of Proclamation No. 572."

The motion was prompted by President Duterte's Proclamation 572 on September 4 declaring that the amnesty granted to then Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV by former President Benigno Aquino III was "void ab initio" for his failure to comply with the requirements–application for amnesty and admission of guilt.

The proclamation also ordered the military and the police to apprehend and detain Trillanes.

Trillanes is out on a 1200,000 bail for his rebellion case before Branch 150 Executive Judge Elmo Alameda.

Branch 148 under Judge Andres Bartolome Soriano is handling the coup d’etat case of Trillanes that stemmed from the Oakwood mutiny in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007.

In his 33-page resolution, Judge Soriano said, the “Court finds and so holds that Trillanes did file his amnesty application in the prescribed form in which he also admitted guilt for his participation in the Oakwood mutiny, among others and in which he further recanted all previous statements that he may have made contrary to said admission.”

“The record shows that this case has long been dismissed as per the Court’s order dated September 21, 2011, by virtue of Proclamation No. 75 and the accused availment thereof. The dismissal, it appears, has become final and executory,” Judge Soriano wrote.

“Given its findings, both on the legality of Proclamation 572, and its factual base, the Court finds no reason to disturb the doctrine of immutability of a final and executor judgment. Meanwhile, the law is vibrant. Jurisprudence is its lifeblood. Subsequent jurisprudence may forge new horizons in which exceptions to the immutability of a final and executor judgment may be born,” the court added.

“For now, the Court finds itself powerless to disturb the said doctrine even it had sustained the factual bases for the issuance of Proclamation No. 572,”the Court ruled in denying due course to the motion of the DOJ.

Valid proclamation But Justice Secretary MenardoGuevarra said this is just the beginning of the case. “This is not the end of it. Nobody can claim total victory here.”

“To some extent both parties were successful. The DOJ, in so far as its contention that Proclamation No. 572 is valid and constitutional,” Guevarra added.

“These factual findings are in direct contravention or the exact opposite of the factual findings of Branch 150 of the same court in Makati where the rebellion case is pending until the present,” Guevarra told reporters during a press briefing early evening yesterday.

“So we are now confronted with a situation where two branches of the same court have different factual findings,” the Secretary pointed out.

“Although, in the case of Branch 148, it went further by saying that Proclamation 572 issued by President Duterte is valid and constitutional,” he added.

“We probablywill question the appreciation of the evidence by the trial court Branch 148,” he added.

Guevarra also expects the Trillanes camp to appeal against the upholding of the constitutionality of Proclamation No. 572.

“So we expect both parties may elevate this ruling of the RTC to a superior court,” he added.

The DOJ chief said Trillanes has a pending petition before the Supreme Court that seeks to invalidate Proclamation No. 572.

He noted that the High Court only remanded the factual issues back to RTC Branches 148 and 150.

“The main case in the Supreme Court is still pending and this order by the trial court – whether of 148 or 150 is not final,” Guevarra stated.

The Justice secretary said they presented the same evidence before Branch 148 and 150 in securing arrest warrants and HDO against Trillanes.

But the two magistrates appeared to have differing appreciations of the arguments and evidence presented by the DOJ.

“However, the factual findings would not sustain the issuance of a warrant of arrest. It boils down to the appreciation of the evidence,” he said.

“In the end there will be a consolidated appreciation of all these evidence, maybe at the Court of Appeals level or maybe at the Supreme Court level,” he added.

Respect Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace will respect the decision of the court.

"While the Office of the President has yet to receive a copy of the ruling issued by the Regional Trial Court of Makati and conduct a thorough study thereof, we respect its denial on the motion submitted by the Department of Justice for the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV in relation to his criminal charge for coup d'etat," he said Monday evening.

"The Palace respects the constitutional independence of the Judiciary and it will continue to do so," he added.

"Compared to those personalities in the opposition, we will not unfairly appeal to the pity of the public but will address this matter head on in the proper forum," he added.

Panelo, meanwhile, welcomed the court's affirmation of the validity of President Duterte's Proclamation no. 572 issued last month which voided the amnesty granted to Trillanes in 2011.

"It signifies that this administration is not engaged in the political persecution of its critics but is only enforcing the law against anyone who goes against its command," he said.

Panelo said that Malacañang will allow the DOJ and the Office of the Solicitor General to figure out the next step.

"Existing legal remedies under the law may be availed of, considering especially the said court’s confirmation that Presidential Proclamation No. 572 (s. 2018) is legal," he said.

"The Office of the President will not preempt the Department of Justice or the Office of the Solicitor General from deciding which legal course it deems necessary to undertake relative to the case," he added.

"We will leave it to these offices to evaluate the available remedies, as well as to determine which steps may be endeavored, before the appropriate courts of law," he continued.

Happy and relieved

A visibly relieved Sen. Trillanes faced the media claiming victory after receiving a copy of the court ruling that junked the motion seeking his arrest and preventing him from leaving the country. “We should remember this day. What is right has prevailed. Justice prevailed. The rule of law prevailed, and democracy prevailed,” Trillanes said.

He thanked Soriano for “singlehandedly” upholding the rule of law despite what he claimed were “extreme pressures” from the Duterte administration.

“We are encouraged that there is still hope in our country and it is personified by Judge Soriano at this point,” he said.

Trillanes said he is confident that his rebellion case before the Makati RTC Branch 150, which earlier granted the DOJ motion and ordered his arrest, would result in a “dead end” and end up the same as the Branch 148's resolution.

"We are seeing some light even sa [Branch] 150. There is always a possibility for anybody to do the right thing," he said.

Trillanes admitted that though he was hopeful of getting a favorable decision from the Makati RTC Branch 148, he mentally prepared himself for the worst.

“I’m not the type who gloats. It’s easy to do that, but I’m not like that. But let’s say I am happy and a lot of people are happy this day,” he said. (With reports from Argyll B. Geducos, Vanne P. Terrazola, and Hannah L. Torregoza)