(Eagle News) — The trial for the rebellion charges filed against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for his alleged role in the Manila Peninsula Siege in 2007 will resume on March 20.
On that day at 2 p.m., the prosecution is slated to present its evidence against the senator before Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda.
The resumption of the trial comes more than four months after it was supposed to resume after President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 572 that declared void ab initio the amnesty granted to the senator in connection with the Manila Peninsula Siege in 2007 and the Oakwood mutiny in 2003.
Alameda had postponed the November 2018 trial pending resolution of Trillanes’ motion for reconsideration of the court’s September 2018 decision that ruled the senator, as argued by the prosecution, did not file an application for amnesty, which meant his grant of amnesty was void, and he should therefore be arrested.
Alameda subsequently upheld his September 2018 decision and again ordered the arrest of Trillanes, who has since posted bail.
In setting the date for the resumption of the trial, Alameda said it sees “no more legal hindrance” for such.
Proclamation No. 572 had cited as arguments for the declaration of the grant of amnesty as void Trillanes’ alleged failure to file an application for the amnesty and alleged failure to admit his guilt, which are requirements for the grant in the first place.
With the declaration, the prosecution argued the cases filed against Trillanes in connection with the Oakwood mutiny and the Manila Peninsula incident held again, since their supposed dismissal in 2011 hinged on the now-void amnesty granted to the senator in the first place.
Branch 148, where Trillanes was charged in connection with the Oakwood mutiny, however, eventually refused to hear the case again, saying the court had already passed upon its final judgment.
