MANILA – Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV braces for the worst as he awaits a court decision on the coup d’état charge lodged against him for the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.
It would be a “miracle” if the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 148 does not issue a warrant of arrest for the non-bailable offense, he told a news conference at the Senate.
The court’s Branch 150 issued on Tuesday an arrest warrant and a hold departure order against the senator for a rebellion charge in connection with the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. Trillanes posted a P200,000 bail bond.
“As it is, milagro na lang ang hinihintay natin from Branch 148 kung sakaling hindi sila maglalabas ng arrest warrant,” said Trillanes. “Kumbaga slightly more hopeful but we have to expect for the worse.”
Developments on the moves against him were a “defeat of democracy” and a result of President Rodrigo Duterte ignoring laws to silence critics like him, the senator stressed.
PRAYER AGAINST ‘EVIL’
“Mayroong mga prosesong hindi na dapat nababali kagaya ng pagbigay ng amnestiya, pag-dismiss ng mga kaso, pero sa gigil ni Duterte sa akin e walang batas-batas sa kanya,” said Trillanes.
Duterte earlier issued a proclamation that voided the amnesty granted to Trillanes, one of the President’s fiercest critics.
The senator said he is using prayer to fight the “evil” that is Duterte.
“Isasagawa niya iyong kanyang kagustuhan at ang gusto niya ay iyon ang matutupad,” said Trillanes. “Kalaban ko ay demonyo so ang panlaban ko ay panalangin. My confidence comes from the fact na ang kasamaan ay hindi nananaig.”
‘DUTERTE WON’T SUFFER THE SAME FATE’
Meanwhile Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte will not suffer the same fate as Trillanes, who said that he is looking forward for the President to go to jail soon.
“Well, siya po siguro’y nananaginip,” Roque said over dzMM radio. “Ang pagkakaiba po nila, naging piskal po ang ating Presidente, abogado po ang ating Presidente. Alam niya ang ginagawa niya, alam niya ang batas.”
“Senator Trillanes has once again played the victim card, resorting to ad hominem attacks against the President,” he added. “He should view this as a welcome opportunity to submit his evidence that will prove that the grant of amnesty to him was valid.”
SILENCING DISSENT?
Meanwhile Vice President Leni Robredo said the issuance of a warrant of arrest against Trillanes IV appears to be Duterte’s way of silencing critics.
“Sana hindi ito crackdown, pero nakita natin with Senator Trillanes, with (the ouster of former) chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, with (the detention of) Sen. Leila de Lima, parang attempt to silence dissent,” Robredo said in an interview.
A dissenting party is healthy in a democracy and in efforts to improve governance, and its absence could lead to authoritarianism and abuse of authority, said the vice president.
“Hindi naman ibig sabihin na ’pag may kumokontra, may masamang gustong mangyari. Pero kasi kung walang kumokontra, ito iyong pinagmumulan ng [authoritarianism], ito ang pinagmumulan ng pang-aabuso,” she said.
Opposition senator Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, believes the moves against Trillanes were part of the government’s attempt to intimidate political critics and a looming crackdown on the opposition.
“It reeks of panic and desperation over the growing opposition to the President’s authoritarian rule,” Hontiveros said. “Beyond the President’s intolerance of opposition politics, it exposes the depths of his paranoia and fear of dissent.”
“President Duterte would like to project himself as a tough guy but wastes his time and energy, as well as precious government resources, on trying to obliterate the democratic opposition,” she added.
For his part, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said Duterte should think of solutions to immediate problems of the Filipinos instead of ganging up on critics.
“Kahirapan at taas-presyo ang kalaban, hindi ang oposisyon,” said Aquino. “Habang nag-aaway-away, ang mga pangunahing isyu ng taumbayan ang nababalewala’t naiiwan.”/PN
