MANILA, Philippines—A Quezon City court on Monday postponed the arraignment of opposition lawyer Homobono Adaza and his co-accused after the respondents filed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against them.

Judge Samuel Gaerlan, presiding judge of the regional trial court Branch 92, reset the arraignment to September 16 shortly after Adaza personally filed the petition on behalf of his co-accused.

In his 12-page motion to quash, Adaza said the case filed against them by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in connection with a supposed plan to bring down the government “was obviously void ab initio and lacked probable cause.”

Adaza, who is representing himself and his four other co-defendants, said the case has no merit since they were arrested unlawfully and that they were illegally subjected to inquest proceedings by the DOJ panel of prosecutors.

The former assemblyman, who was charged for violating Article 136, or “proposal to commit coup d’etat,” of the Revised Penal Code, likewise argued that the court has no right to arraign them as it has yet to acquire jurisdiction of the case.

He said the information sheet from the DOJ was full of infirmities.

“The facts charged do not constitute an offense,” Adaza stressed in his petition.

“It also becomes equally imperative to file this motion because of the illegal, oppressive, tyrannical, cruel and unjust exercise of powers of agents of government … who are supposed to enforce the law,” he added.

Adaza, who was released from police custody after he posted the required bail of P80,000, noted that a Quezon City municipal trial court had already thrown out the other case he was facing in relation to the incident.

In his decision dated July 14, Judge Alfredo Ampuan junked the case for “obstruction of justice/harboring a fugitive” against the lawyer after the DOJ failed to establish probable cause.

The cases stemmed from a complaint of lawyer Raymund Fortun who went to the CIDG after Adaza and his co-accused allegedly demanded $4 million (about P170 million) from his client, Motonori Sakuma, to finance a coup to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in exchange for favors “from the new government.”

Adaza and the other accused were arrested last July 2 in an entrapment operation while they were allegedly trying to collect the money from Sakuma’s associate, Joanne Maria Laurilla, inside a room at the Crown Plaza Hotel in the Ortigas business district in Pasig City.

Retired Marine Colonel Cesar de la Peña, former Army Colonle Ernie Amboy, former Lieutenant Colonel Oscarlito Mapalo and former police Superintendent Rafael Cardeño were also arrested along with Adaza.