MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines is letting the Supreme Court handle the petition against Presidential Proclamation 572.
President Rodrigo Duterte, through Proclamation 572, declared as “void ab initio” the amnesty granted to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in November 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III.
“The AFP submits to the majesty of the [Supreme Court] and yields to its wisdom as it tackles the petition … filed by Senator Trillanes,” the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., said in a statement released on Sunday.
“We will not anymore comment on its merits as we hope other parties would follow suit,” Galvez said.
Trillanes, one of Duterte’s fiercest critics, asked the Supreme Court to declare Proclamation 572 illegal and called on the military to defy it.
The proclamation voiding his amnesty for links to failed coup attempts and ordering his arrest was baseless, he said in his petition.
“Their basis for this proclamation is a big lie,” he told reporters in the Senate building, where he has remained since Duterte’s order was made public Tuesday.
“It’s bogus. They only wanted to pin me down for being a critic of Mr. Duterte,” Trillanes stressed.
Meanwhile Galvez reminded soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines not to meddle or take part in partisan politics. “Our loyalty is to the Constitution,” he said.
Troops must “adhere to the rule of law and always obey the chain of command,” the Armed Forces chief of staff said.
“Violation of these instructions will be dealt with severely and personnel who will get involved will be immediately relieved from their posts and investigated,” he warned.
Galvez said he commissioned the general court martial “that shall continue hearing the case of the erstwhile Navy Lieutenant Trillanes.”
But “with the recent pronouncement of the chief executive, [general court martial] proceedings will be held in abeyance until the [Supreme Court] has ruled on the legality of [Presidential Proclamation] 572.” (With Philippine News Agency and Associated Press/PN)
