Still no arrest warrant for Trillanes from Makati court

There is still no warrant of arrest out for Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, little over a week after President Rodrigo Duterte nullified his amnesty.

This, after Judge Andres Soriano of the Makati Regional Trial Court’s Branch 148 gave Trillanes’ laywers and the government at least two more weeks to submit additional pleadings to bolster their respective arguments.

During Thursday’s hearing, Trillanes' lawyer, Reynaldo Robles, asked for and was granted 10 days to answer state prosecutors' reply to his opposition against the motion for arrest.

He was granted the same period to file a supplemental comment/opposition to the motion of the Department of Justice (DOJ), while the prosecution was given five days after that to answer the supplemental filing. 

This development comes after the Supreme Court (SC) found it appropriate to give "leeway" to the Makati RTCs to exercise their jurisdiction to hear or resolve pleadings filed as regards the legality of Proclamation No. 572, the presidential directive that nullified Trillanes' amnesty.

Trillanes has gone to the SC to contest the constitutionality of the proclamation, but was told that the issue of whether or not he complied with the requirements for amnesty was factual in nature.

Only trial courts, and in some cases the Court of Appeals, are triers of facts, the SC said on Tuesday.

It was Branch 148 that handled — and eventually dismissed — the coup d’etat case against Trillanes. The government has also moved for his arrest before Branch 150, the court that handled the rebellion case.

Judge Elmo Alameda of Branch 150 will hear the DOJ’s motion on Friday.  —KBK, GMA News