Several lawyers to file sedition case vs Trillanes

FILE: Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

A group of lawyers is set to file a sedition case against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for allegedly inciting the military to kill President Rodrigo Duterte.

Led by former Negros Oriental Representative Jing Paras, the group in a press conference cited Trillanes’ privilege speech on October 3.

Paras said that they may file on Thursday next week cases of inciting to sedition and proposal to commit coup d’etat before the Office of the Ombudsman or the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Senator, a known staunch critic of the President, alleged in the said speech that Duterte’s wealth is over P40 million.

The group was particularly pointing to the part where Trillanes said, “Kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M60 na machine gun gagamitin sa’yo kasi marami-rami ito. Mauubos ‘yung magasin kung P40 million ang hinahanap mo (If the soldiers see this, they will use an M60 machine gun against you since these are plenty. The magazine will be consumed if you are looking for P40 million).

The Senator actually made the remark as response to Duterte’s statement on October 2 – “I promise you now, in front of the soldiers and everybody… Sinasabi ko sa inyo (I am telling you), you can shoot me if it exceeds P40 million. Lifetime na iyang savings ko. Hindi sosobra d’yan. Sigurado ako (Those are my lifetime savings. It will not exceed. I am sure.)”

Manuelito Luna, one of the lawyers, however, said that Trillanes “crossed the line” even though it was a privilege speech.

“If you used your speech to commit a crime especially against the government, you can be charged with inciting to sedition [and] proposal to commit coup d’etat. If you attempt to cause the public to hate the President or endanger him, that’s already inciting to sedition,” Luna explained.

Trillanes’ reacted in a statement that he is welcoming these cases “no matter how absurd” they may seem.

“As part of my legal defense, I would be able to prove my claim on Duterte’s ill-gotten wealth. Specifically, I would be able to ask the court to subpoena his bank documents as an exemption to the Bank Secrecy Law,” Trillanes said.

Apart from Luna, Paras also lead lawyers Eligio Mallari and Nasser Marohomsalic.