Trillanes’ rebellion case far from over?

The country’s Solicitor General can decide on what legal action to pursue in its chase of former Senator Antonio Trillanes whom the government wants jailed for launching coups against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said this on Wednesday after the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed a Makati court’s motion to revive a mutiny case against Trillanes for his role in the takeover of the Oakwood Hotel in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula Hotel in 2007.

The court’s action came after President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation 572 in 2018 that declared the amnesty given by former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino in 2011 as void from the start.

Makati RTC Branch 148 Judge Andres Soriano dismissed the court’s motion, however, citing lack of factual basis.

Trillanes is an opposition leader and a staunch critic of Duterte.

Some of the soldiers and officers who have helped launch coups against Arroyo have served in the Duterte government, including the late Danilo Lim, who was Duterte’s MMDA chairperson; and Nicanor Faeldon, who was sacked as Customs Chief but was “recycled” to various government posts, including as Director-General of the Bureau of Corrections.

“I will leave it to the Office of the Solicitor General, as counsel for the government, to determine the appropriate legal remedy, which may include a motion for reconsideration with the Court of Appeals or a petition for review with the Supreme Court,” Guevarra said.

The Justice Chief also stated that Trillanes’ troubles are yet settled.

“Based on what has been reported in the media, the same decision of the CA upheld the validity of the proclamation revoking the amnesty granted to Senator Trillanes. If this is so, it opens a number of legal options to the government, and if I may say, the battle is certainly far from over,” he stated.

“The rule of law prevailed. I hope all judges and justices have this kind of sense of justice to check the prevailing authoritarianism in the country,” Trillanes said on his CA victory.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo on Wednesday also warned former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to “not celebrate yet, you can still be sued for rebellion”.