Agabin, Hilbay, Chan join Trillanes legal team

FILE: TRILLANES FACES THE MEDIA. Senator Antonio Trilllanes IV issues a statement to the media, with Minority Floor Leader Senator Franklin Drilon (right) and Senator Risa Hontiveros (left), about the revocation of his amnesty by Malacañang on Tuesday (Sept. 4, 2018). (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV named three legal experts who will join his defense team to argue against the revocation of the amnesty granted to him by the past administration.

“While I believe that the illegal voiding of my amnesty and the cases filed before the Makati Regional Trial courts (RTCs) related to this are part of (President Rodrigo) Duterte’s political harassment, I have talked to some of the best legal minds in the country who are willing to stand for the rule of law,” Trillanes said in his statement on Thursday, September 13.

The senator said former University of the Philippines (UP) Law Dean Pacifico Agabin, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, and law professor Joselito Chan will join his legal team, along with his chief legal counsel Reynaldo Robles.

According to Trillanes, these lawyers ‘volunteered’ to defend him before the two Makati (RTC) branches and the Supreme Court (SC).

“They believe that if this illegal act would not be corrected, our country’s democracy would be in peril,” he said.

The Makati RTC Branch 148, which handled the coup d’etat case against Trillanes over the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, heard today the motion of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) to issue an arrest warrant and hold departure against the embattled senator. However, the court did not issue the warrant of arrest and instead gave Trillanes 10 days to answer the DOJ’s pleading.

Meanwhile, the Makati RTC Branch 150 that handled the rebellion case of Trillanes over the 2007 Manila Peninsula Siege will hold a hearing on Friday, September 14.

Trillanes, in his statement, hopes that the courts “will correct this executive overreach and adhere to the rule of law despite Duterte’s twisting of laws just to achieve his aim of silencing his critics.”

The opposition senator earlier filed a petition before the High Court asking it to declare Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572 as unconstitutional as it “violates the constitutional design clearly making the said power a joint power of the President and the members of both houses of Congress.”

Trillanes asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Presidential proclamation, but the High Court denied his plea believing that the senator will not be arrested unless a warrant of arrest has been issued by the trial court.

Despite this, Trillanes praised the SC for showing “some semblance of independence” with its decision.

“It was a carefully-worded decision by the Supreme Court,” he said last Tuesday.

“They could have outrightly dismissed the petition altogether. But they knew that we presented a strong case and the proclamation is badly-flawed, but nonetheless, they gave him (Duterte) a face-saving way out,” he added.