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QC court issues arrest orders vs. Trillanes, 9 others


A Quezon City court on Friday issued an arrest warrant against former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and nine others in connection with a conspiracy to commit sedition case.

A report by Allan Gatus on Dobol B sa News TV said the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 138 issued the warrant.

Bail was set at P10,000.

The case stems from allegations by estafa convict Peter Joemel Advincula, alias Bikoy, that members of the opposition plotted to discredit the Duterte administration by linking the President and his family to the illegal drug trade.

The allegations of Duterte’s drug links took the form of the “Ang Totoong Narcolist,” a series of videos published online that featured a hooded figure called “Bikoy.” Advincula said the videos were part of an anti-Duterte plot.

Other high-profile respondents, including Vice President Leni Robredo, Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros, and former Senator Bam Aquino were cleared of charges.

Advincula, the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group’s sole witness, is also a defendant in the conspiracy case. He will go to court on Monday or Tuesday to post bail, his lawyer, Larry Gadon, said.

Advincula is currently in a safehouse "somewhere in the north," Gadon said in a message to reporters.

Prosecutors said they will still have to consider moving for Advincula’s discharge as a state witness. They said they may present other witnesses in court. 

As of this posting, Villanueva and Alejo have posted bail, and the arrest warrants against them have been recalled.

Trillanes said he will face the charges, which he described as harassment, and will post bail when he returns to the country next week.

“I am out of the country as of the moment for a series of engagements. But I intend to post bail once I arrive in Manila late next week,” he said in a text message to GMA News Online

“I will face this case just as I have faced all the other harassment cases Duterte's minions have filed against me.”

The court set the arraignment of the accused for March 17. —with Nicole-Anne Lagrimas and Amita Legaspi/KBK, GMA News

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