Biazon to military: Don’t follow unlawful orders, wait for warrant before arresting Trillanes

Reminding them of their oath of office, former serviceman and Senator Rodolfo Biazon on Monday urged soldiers not to follow illegal orders even if it comes from the president.

Biazon, in an interview on ANC, said that a warrant of arrest must first be issued before the military can be instructed to arrest Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, whose amnesty President Rodrigo Duterte earlier "voided" for alleged failure to comply with basic requirements for such privilege.

Duterte's proclamation has since been criticized by some legal experts and has already been questioned by the senator before the Supreme Court.

"Definitely, a soldier must follow only legal orders of his superiors, whether the superior is the chief of staff or maybe even the president. If it is very apparent that the order is illegal, we in our oath of office says we must only follow legal orders," Biazon said.

Biazon said if he were in Trillanes' shoes, the military will have to "take me by force" if it will insist on arresting him without a written order or signed arrest warrant.

"I pity those soldiers who went to the Senate. They were being ordered to arrest somebody, and not just somebody but a senator of the republic, without being able to show a written and signed (warrant)," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 572 last week, revoking the amnesty extended to Trillanes in November 2010 by former President Benigno Aquino III on the basis that it was not compliant with the minimum requirements under the amnesty proclamation. Trillanes availed of the amnesty in January 2011.

Duterte eventually revoked a provision in the declaration involving Trillanes' warrantless arrest and opted to allow the courts that settled the senator's rebellion and coup d'etat charges to handle the issuance of a possible alias warrant.

"I was glad when President Duterte withdrew the order for warranted arrest and he said let the court of law prevail by referring the issue to RTC Branch 150. And I would say that maybe this is the direction today," Biazon said.

Biazon previously said that this presupposes that the same reprieve given to other former military officers, some of whom Duterte appointed to the government, who participated in the ouster plot against Arroyo could also be voided.

He also noted that the revocation had no legal basis and that if errors were indeed made in the granting of the amnesty, the fault would also fall on several government agencies and Congress.

Congress, he repeated, had an equal share in the grant of amnesty and pardon with the president.

"This can only be done or happen with the other half of the authority of the power which is Congress, the president cannot unilaterally revoke such grant," Biazon said.

"I think this [issue] is larger than the individual and personal case of Sen. Trillanes. It drives to the very heart of our beliefs and our constitution. We can never allow the erosion of our belief conviction and trust to our institutions," he added.

The Department of Defense (DND) should also have been consulted first as it was the "business" of the defense secretary, Biazon said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier admitted having no idea why Solicitor General Calida had earlier asked for Trillanes' amnesty records, adding that he no longer asked why the Solicitor General was interested in them. — Rie Takumi/MDM, GMA News