CHIZ CALLS ON SC TO ACT ON TRILLANES PETITION

Senator Chiz Escudero is urging the Supreme Court to act on the petition filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes, which questioned and sought to stop the implementation of Proclamation No. 572 that revoked the amnesty granted to the latter by the Aquino administration.

While Trillanes was able to post bail at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 for the rebellion charges in connection with the Manila Peninsula siege, he failed to get an immediate relief from the SC for the case of coup d' etat filed by the Department of Justice with Branch 148 of the Makati RTC.

Under the laws, rebellion is a bailable offense, but Escudero said that "the crime of coup de etat, which is pending in the other court, is not. Bail, therefore, will not be a matter of right on the part or Sen. Trillanes and he can be detained once an order of arrest is issued by the RTC."

"Sana magpasya na ang Korte Suprema at sabihin nilang valid or hindi ang petisyon ni Sen. Trillanes. O kung matatagalan pa ang kanilang pagpapasya, sana ikonsidera nila ang pag-isyu muna ng TRO (temporary restraining order). The right of a person to liberty cannot be made to depend on the Court's absence or lack of action on an issue," the senator said.

According to Escudero, without an immediate issuance of a TRO from the Supreme Court, the president's proclamation, however ill-advised and seemingly unconstitutional it may be, remains valid and can be used as a basis for the regional trial court to issue orders and decisions such as the arrest of Trillanes.

"Hindi ko sinasabihan ang Korte Suprema na paboran si Senator Trillanes, paboran si Pangulong Duterte. Magpasiya lamang sila upang may tinatayuan talaga ang anumang pinag-uutos ng husgado kaugnay sa pag-isyu o hindi ng warrant," Escudero pointed out.