MANILA – A Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Tuesday junked the motion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) stopping Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV from travelling abroad.
In a verdict by the Davao City RTC Branch 54, the DOJ’s plea for a hold departure order (HDO) for Trillanes was dismissed since the prosecutors admitted that there is no evidence that the opposition senator is planning to escape.
Even with the absence of HDO, the court has not yet approved Trillanes’ out of the country travel from Jan. 27 to Feb. 10 since they are asking for the senator’s itinerary and trip details.
The DOJ, in its petition last year, said Trillanes’ trip to the United States and Europe would be an opportunity for him to escape the jurisdiction of the courts in his cases in Davao City, Makati City and Pasay City.
During the hearing for the motion, the prosecutors itself said they do not have an evidence to show that the opposition senator is not returning to the country after his scheduled trip.
However, during the hearing, the court noted that the prosecution itself admitted that it “does not have evidence to show that accused [Trillanes] will not return to the country after his scheduled trips abroad.”
The Davao City RTC Branch 54 pointed out in their five-page verdict that Trillanes’ voluntary surrender when a warrant of arrest was issued against him was a testament that he is not a flight risk.
“To the Court’s mind, the immediate voluntary surrender of the accused upon his knowledge from media accounts of the Warrants of Arrest issued against him indicates that the risk of his flight or escape from this jurisdiction is highly unlikely,” it said.
“His voluntary surrender and placing himself under the jurisdiction of the court is a demonstration of his utter respect for the legal processes of this country,” the court added.
The DOJ also noted that Trillanes’ speaking engagement has been allowed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III and the trip has been long scheduled even before the cases against him were filed.
Trillanes, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, is facing various cases, including libel cases filed by Presidential son Paolo Duterte and Presidential son-in-law Manases Carpio, to which the senator pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.
For Trillanes, it was his first time to set foot in Davao City, the bailiwick of his rival Duterte, since being declared persona non grata last year for describing the city as “the most dangerous city in the Philippines.”
Trillanes, in an international forum, cited Philippine National Police data and said Davao City was number one in terms of murder and rape cases when Duterte served as mayor.
But Trillanes said in an interview that it was surprising that he was given a warm welcome by the Davaoeños upon his arrival at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport early Tuesday morning.
Trillanes was accompanied by his security and some members of the Office of the Senate Sergeant-At-Arms for his arraignment before the sala of Davao City RTC Branch 54 judge Melinda Alconcel Dayanghirang.
“Apat itong kasong na-arraign ako. Nag-plea ako ng ‘not guilty’,” Trillanes said in an interview after the arraignment. “Mga harassment cases lamang ito just to inconvenience me.”
The opposition senator also has a pending libel case in Makati City filed by former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay and sedition case in Pasay City for his statement against Duterte./PN
