Drilon says Trillanes can’t be charged with sedition

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Friday that Senator Antonio Trillanes IV cannot be charged with sedition for something he said during a privilege speech.

"It violates the absolute parliamentary immunity for privilege speeches as established in Article IV, Section 5 of the Constitution," said Drilon, a former justice secretary.

"Hindi rin masasabing inciting to sedition dahil binanggit lang ni Trillanes ang sinabi ni Pangulong Duterte sa military noon," he added.

The Pasay City Prosecutor's Office has filed charges of inciting to sedition against Trillanes for allegedly encouraging the military to shoot President Rodrigo Duterte.

The complaint stemmed from a privilege speech made by the senator in October 2017, where he accused Duterte of having bank transactions of more than P2 billion from 2006 to 2015.

"Kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M-60 ang gagamitin sa'yo kasi marami-rami ito. Mauubos yung magasin, kung P40 million yung hinahanap mo," Trillanes had said, though he did not make a direct statement for soldiers to shoot their commander-in-chief.

The opposition senator was referring to Duterte's own statement to soldiers in October, in which he told them to shoot him if it could be proven that his lifetime savings exceeded P40 million.

Meanwhile, Senator Francis Pangilinan hit the government's double-standard when it comes to filing cases as known administration allies avoided serious charges while trumped-up charges have been allegedly filed against administration critics.

Pangilinan noted that ranking Bureau of Customs officials, led by former Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, avoided drug charges in connection with the P6.4-billion shabu shipment that managed to slip into the country. Recently, charges against alleged drug personalities Peter Lim and Kerwin Espinosa were dismissed.

"Umamin na nga si Kerwin sa Senado na siya'y sangkot sa operasyon ng iligal na droga sa bansa habang itong si Lim ay makailang beses nang tinukoy ni Pangulong Duterte bilang sangkot sa iligal na droga pero naabsuwelto pa rin sila," he said.

"Ang masakit nito, ang prosecutor na nag-absuwelto kina Kerwin at Peter Lim ay na-promote pa bilang judge. Ito ba'y gantimpala sa maganda niyang trabaho?" asked Pangilinan.

For his part, Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV called the filing of charges as harassment against government critics.

"Hindi na kagulat-gulat na ginigipit muli ng administrasyon ang isa sa mga matitibay nilang kritiko. Mas nakakapagtaka ang patuloy na pagpoprotekta at pagpapalaya ng DOJ sa mga drug lord at criminal mastermind," he said.

"Sa mga panahong ito, mahalagang ituloy ang laban para sa katarungan at hustisya para sa taumbayan,” Aquino added.

Meanwhile, detained Senator Leila de Lima said it looks like everybody in the National Prosecution Service of the DOJ is now gunning for promotion and rewards.

She said, first, it was Aristotle Reyes, the prosecutor who absolved Customs officials and other individuals in the P6.4-B shabu smuggling case, as well as Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim, and Peter Co for illegal drug trading. Reyes, appointed judge to the Lucena Regional Trial Court, has said that his new post was based on merits.

She said it is Pasay City Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Joahna Gabatino-Lim’s turn now to gun for her own promotion when she charged Trillanes with the crime of inciting to sedition.

"I cringe at the thought of what our civil service will look like at the end of Duterte’s term — the DOJ and the National Prosecution Service in particular," she said. — RSJ, GMA News