Trillanes to run after gov’t officials, lawyers pushing for amnesty revocation

Embattled Senator Antonio Trillanes IV warned officials of the administration who are pushing for what he described as a ‘bogus’ arrest, saying that he will run after them someday.

“Pagdating ng panahon, ‘pag wala na si Duterte, hahabulin ko talaga sila pagka they insist dito sa ginawa nilang kalokohan (When the time comes, when Duterte is no longer in power, I will run after them if they insist with their stupidity),” Trillanes said in a press briefing at the Senate on Thursday, September 6.

Trillanes specifically mentioned Solicitor General Jose Calida, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, Department of National Defense (DND) Spokesman Arsenio Andolong, Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, and Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon.

“Talagang mananagot kayo after kasi si Duterte hindi ito tatagal. Itong sina Guevarra, Calida, kakaripas ‘to ng takbo pagkatapos ni Duterte kasi hindi naman sila sasaluhin niyan. Kasi even si Duterte hahabulin, ang daming krimen nun (You will be held liable after because Duterte will not stay longer in power. Guevarra and Calida will just run away after Duterte’s term because they will not be saved by him. Because even Duterte will be held accountable as he has committed many crimes),” Trillanes, a former Navy officer, warned them.

These individuals, he said, should be ‘disbarred’ from service for what they are doing against him.

“They should be disbarred from practicing the legal profession kasi (because) they are supposed to oversee or protect rights, my rights,” the senator stressed.

“Kahit kalaban mo sa pulitika o hindi, huwag mo dapat gagamitin ‘yung posisyon mo o ‘yung batas to persecute people (Whether it is your political enemy or not, you should not use your position or the law to persecute people),” he added.

Apart from these officials and lawyers, Trillanes also gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) a warning, saying that they should not get themselves involved in political affairs.

“Ako pine-preempt ko lang, huwag na kayong sumawsaw dito. Pulitika ito, ginagamit lang kayo. Ngayon ‘yung magapapagamit, ‘yung mga abogadong nagsasalita diyan, ako talaga hahabulin ko ang mga ito. Kakaririn ko kayo (I’m just preempting it, do not get involved here. This is politics, they are just using you. Those who will allow themselves to be used, those lawyers speaking out there, I will really run after you. I will exhaust all my efforts),” Trillanes said.

“There are bigger messages here. We are talking about democratic institutions, we are talking about due process, we are talking about the rule of law,” he continued.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared the granted amnesty to Trillanes as “void ab initio” as the senator allegedly failed to apply for one and refused to admit guilt for his involvement in coup attempts against the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Belying all these claims, Trillanes, in his press briefing, presented a document containing the list of applicants for amnesty where his name is included.

Apart from the document dated January 5, 2011, that came from the DND, Trillanes also presented a photo of him, showing that he filed his amnesty application.

The DND earlier said that Trillanes’s application for amnesty was ‘missing’ and that they are still searching for the record.

“Based on records of DND and AFP, application is not available at the moment. Hinahanap pa (We are still looking for it). But if the senator decides to present that as part of his defense, we are more than willing to see it. Subject to authentication and of course, we can use that to validate,” Andalong said.