Guevarra: Trillanes can show amnesty papers in court

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV can go to court and show proof challenging the basis of the presidential proclamation that voided his amnesty for his role in Arroyo-time military uprisings, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.

"If Senator Trillanes is planning to file a necessary action in court to challenge this proclamation by President Duterte, then he can very well show all of this proof that would tend to show that the proclamation by the President setting aside [his] amnesty was a mistake," Guevarra told ANC.

The said application, a requirement for amnesty that Trillanes allegedly failed to comply with, is "missing" in the records of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Justice chief said.

However, the opposition senator has shown video footage, news articles, and photos of his application form, certificate of amnesty, and court decisions dismissing the rebellion and coup d'etat cases against him.

"We've got to see the document itself, that's what seems to be missing," Guevarra said.

"He can just show this, present this documentary evidence to disprove the findings of the group that reviewed the grant of amnesty," he explained.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque echoed Guevarra’s statement, adding Malacañang’s position on the issue will likely not change.

“Tingin ko po, iyan na po ay pinal na desisyon na ng Ehekutibo. Ang puwede niyang gawin ay pumunta sa hukuman at sabihin na mali iyong ginawa ng Ehekutibo dahil sa mga kadahilanan na kung talagang siya ay nag-apply at gumamit ipakita niya iyong dokumento. Ang tawag po diyan iyong best evidence rule,” Roque said in an interview on dzRH radio.

“Iyong mga video wala pong sabihin iyan, dahil ang importante po iyong dokumento mismo...dapat umaamin siya doon sa krimen na kudeta na sa tingin ko po ay hindi po talaga nangyari.”

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the arrest and the pursuance of all criminal and administrative cases against Trillanes in connection with his staunch critic's involvement in the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula Siege.

Apart from the "missing" application, Trillanes had also allegedly failed to comply with the requirement for admission of guilt for crimes committed in line with the two uprisings, hence the nullification of the amnesty granted him by former President Benigno Aquino III in 2010.

Trillanes and other Magdalo soldiers availed of the amnesty in 2011. According to a news report from that day, the former Navy officer said they filled out an application form and signed the sections that they were agreeing to "general admission of guilt" to violation of military rules and the Revised Penal Code.

"We are man enough to admit that we have broken rules," Trillanes was quoted as saying in the story.

However, Guevarra told reporters Tuesday that there must be an "express admission of guilt to the offense of coup d'etat" and not just the mere uprising, "because the elements may be different." —Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas and Virgil Lopez/KG/BM, GMA News