‘Lieutenant Trillanes’ to face court martial —AFP

Acting Armed Forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Salvador Mison has ordered the formation of a new general court martial that will hear the charges against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

According to AFP spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo, President Rodrigo Duterte's revocation of the amnesty given to Trillanes in 2010 returns the senator back to the folds of the military.

"The acting AFP chief of staff, Lieutenant General Salvador Melchor Mison Jr. , has already instructed the re-convening of a general  Court Martial that shall be hearing the case of Lieutenant Trillanes," Arevalo said.

"The fact that he was reverted to military custody and he regains his military personality, then kung anong magiging ruling ng Court Martial, that would apply to him," he added.

Arevalo said the revocation of the amnesty given to Trillanes would bring him back to his former status as an active military personnel.

He said Trillanes would thus be subject to military rules and discipline.

President Rodrigo Duterte on August 31 signed Proclamation No. 572 which declared the amnesty extended to the opposition senator void because he failed to comply with the "minimum requirements to qualify."

As regards the court martial versus Trillanes, Arevalo further said, "Remember it was just stopped because of the supervening event that is in the case of the amnesty that is given to him, which is now an issue."

"Now na-revoke 'yung amnesty, ab initio, meaning from the beginning, so he will be reverted to his status as active military personnel subject to military law and military discipline," he added said.

Proclamation No. 572 cited certification from the AFP's Philippines' Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel that there is no available copy of Trillanes' application for amnesty.

‘Under what charge?’

Trillanes asked for what charge was he being placed under court martial.

“Kumbaga sige mag-magic na kayo ng pwede n’yong gawin. ‘Yung taumbayan maliwanag sa kanila ito. Dapat  maliwanag sa inyo na ito ay pagha-harass at pagpe-persecute ng mga miyembro ng oposisyon ng mga kumokontra sa kanya at nagsasabi ng katotohanan,” Trillanes said at a press conference.

He said the country now seemed to be under de facto martial law with Duterte ordering his arrest even without a warrant.

" Yung mga arresting officers dyan (sa baba ng Senate building) ay walang warrant. We are living in a de facto martial law,” Trillanes said. —Margaret Claire Layug with Amita Legaspi/NB, GMA News