TRILLANES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO PERFORM
HIS DUTIES AS SENATOR -- PIMENTEL

The Senate should continue pressing the authorities to allow Senator Antonio Trillanes to function as a member of the legislature subject to reasonable measures that may be adopted to ensure his security and to prevent any possible repetition of the Oakwood or Manila Peninsula incidents.

This was recommended by Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. following the dialogue he and Sen. Panfilo Lacson made with Trillanes and other participants in the Manila Pen incident during a visit to the detention center at Camp Crame, Quezon City on December 6.

Pimentel also urged the Senate to form a special committee to monitor the developments in the cases, both civil and military, against Trillanes and his companions.

He requested Senate President Manuel Villar to assign a senator or perhaps, a competent lawyer, to witness the proceedings against Trillanes, visit him form time to time and report to the Senate periodically the results of his or her findings.

During the dialogue, Trillanes reiterated his appeal to be allowed to discharge his duties as a senator, such as attending Senate sessions and committee hearings, even under guard.

He told his colleagues that his cause - even the Nov. 29 Peninsula Hotel incident - was not an armed uprising or rebellion. He said they wanted to simply air their grievances mainly against their prolonged detention and pendency of the criminal charges against them in the Makati Regional Trial Court and several disciplinary charges against them in various court martials.

Trillanes also said that all the civilians being detained with them should be released soonest.

Pimentel and Lacson also heard the views of the civilians who were arrested, jailed and criminally charged with Trillanes.

The civilian activists led by lawyers J.V. Bautista and Argee Guevarra, emphasized that their having marched from the Makati RTC to the Peninsula Hotel did not amount to a rebellion or coup d'tat. Like Trillanes, they said all they wanted to do was to articulate their grievances - social, electoral, structural - against the government by joining a "protest march."

Another civilian, Fr. Robert Reyes, said he was not aware of the inception of the march of the Trillanes group. He said he was scheduled to say mess at a nearby place but when he learned about the march and saw the old and sickly Bishop Emeritus Julio Labayen trudging along with the demonstrators, he decided to link up wit the marchers at or near the Peninsula Hotel primarily to be able to give succor to the Bishop if and when the latter needed it.

Pimentel said Trillanes and his companions all resist the idea of being transferred to the National Penitentiary or Bilibid in Muntinlupa City since this is only for prisoners who have been convicted by final judgment by the courts.

"To imprison them in the national penitentiary would unduly tag them as convicts and induce police authorities and more importantly the people to believe they are indeed convicts and should be treated as such even as they are still to be tried at some future time," he said.

Pimentel said Sen. Trillanes appears to be in good shape in mind, body and soul. "Trillanes is optimistic that he would vindicated despite the belief that the government wants to get him convicted by hook or by crook."

He said as they parted, he advised Trillanes to "stay away from trouble."

Pimentel thanked Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Undersecretary Marius Corpus and Austere Panadero for facilitating the Camp Crame visit.