Oakwood prober to Trillanes: This is your ‘golden chance’ to make Duterte look stupid

It is up to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to make President Rodrigo Duterte look stupid in claiming that the amnesty granted to Trillanes eight years ago is invalid, Commodore Rex Robles of the Feliciano Commission, which probed the 2003 Oakwood mutiny which Trillanes participated in, said Friday.

Robles made the position following a claim made by the Defense department that it had lost Trillanes' application for amnesty after President Duterte issued Proclamation 572 which revokes Trillanes' amnesty on the basis that he did not apply for amnesty and did not admit guilt for his involvement in two incidents in 2003 and 2007, which sought the removal of then President Gloria Arroyo when Trillanes was still a Navy official.

Trillanes, however, have since shown Department of Defense (DND) documents signed by former Defense Chief Voltaire Gazmin saying he filed for amnesty, which was eventually granted after he admitted guilt in violating military rules and the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

“If the military cannot find it by all reasonable means, you cannot fault the military or the President. It is up to Trillanes to prove it (that he applied and qualified for amnesty), make the President look stupid. This is his golden chance,” Robles said.

Robles also maintained that Proclamation 572 is legal and a mere call to the Defense department to check if Trillanes' amnesty is in order even if the same Proclamation is ordering the police and the military to file criminal and administrative cases vs. Trillanes in connection with his involvement in 2003 Oakwood mutiny and 2007 Manila Peninsula siege “so that he can be recommitted to the detention facility where he had been incarcerated for him to stand trial for crimes he is charged with.”

To date, there is no pending case or standing warrant of arrest issued against Trillanes.

“He (President) is simply saying look into it, look for the document which affirms that Senator Trillanes complied with the provisions of the amnesty. The President just doesn't want to micromanage it. He senses something wrong and [is] using legal means to inspect it,” Robles said.

“If it is called for, then they (law enforcers) will arrest him (Trillanes). Proclamation 572 tasks the military and police to employ all lawful means. He (President) is saying if it (arresting him) is legal, do it. If it is illegal, don't do it. What is Trillanes' problem then?,” Robles added.

Robles, however, conceded that the President can task the military to look for Trillanes' application for amnesty even without voiding the amnesty via the issuance of Proclamation 572.

“Yes (the President can still do it). But maybe if people [would] move without the Proclamation, the yellow herd will use that and claim [it is tantamount to] fascism,” Robles added, referring to the opposition Liberal Party which party color is yellow. — MDM, GMA News