MANILA, Philippines -- Former senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, arrested on charges of leading a short-lived mutiny in 2003, walked out of jail Friday night after posting bail, his lawyer said.

Honasan, a former Army colonel notorious for involvement in several coup attempts in the late 1980s, left his detention cell at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna at around 7:40 p.m., lawyer Victor Lansang said.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-National Capital Region (CIDG-NCR), whose men arrested Honasan, acknowledged the order of Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar Pimentel, allowing Honasan to post bail of P200,000.

"He's now en route to his home," said Lansang in a phone interview, adding that Honasan, who is running as an independent senatorial candidate in the May elections, would immediately start campaigning.

Honasan filed a petition for bail to bolster his campaign.

Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel, chief of the CIDG-NCR, echoed Lansang’s statement, saying Honasan's first concern was to "go home and spend quality time with his family."

"He told me that in the morning, he would hit the campaign trail," Coronel said.

Honasan, 59, is accused of helping plot a day-long military mutiny in 2003. He is also facing rebellion charges for his alleged role in a supposed plot to oust President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in February 2006, but the Supreme Court has stopped the Department of Justice from prosecuting the case.

Honasan, who has denied the allegations, was arrested in November after nine months on the run.

State prosecutor Juan Pardo Navera said a court-ordered reinvestigation of the charges against Honasan, which is expected to be finished within two weeks, could lead to the former senator’s re-arrest.

The re-investigation was done on the request of Honasan, who told the court he had been denied due process when the case was filed without allowing him to submit his counter-affidavit.

The court gave the Department of Justice 60 days to complete the re-investigation.

"Basically, there is the same set of evidence. The only thing new on this case is his counter-affidavit," Navera said. "If there is probable cause, the case will continue and we will seek for his re-arrest. But if he is absolved, the boxing [match] is over."

Navera said the granting of bail to Honasan came as a surprise because the same court had denied his original petition for bail.

The judge set a May 17 arraignment for Honasan.

Coroner said Honasan was released to the custody of his lawyers and his son Kim, adding the former senator was “subjected to a medical exam to prove that there was no physical abuse."

"He had no complaint (about the way he was treated)," added Coronel, saying Honasan even thanked his guards from the elite Special Action Force and the CIDG.

Honasan has been advocating far-reaching military and social reforms, but some critics see him as a political adventurer.

He was a key leader in an attempt to oust late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. That uprising failed but sparked massive protests that led to Marcos' fall.

The former Army colonel also turned against Marcos' successor, Corazon Aquino, staging coup attempts against her before he was given amnesty and won a Senate seat in 1995 and again in 2001.

He has been indicted for the crime of coup d' etat for allegedly leading the 2003 mutiny, when about 300 junior officers briefly occupied a ritzy apartment-hotel and mall complex in the financial district of Makati City. They surrendered peacefully hours later.

Honasan has denied leading the mutineers, a crime which is punishable by 40 years imprisonment. With Tetch Torres, INQUIRER.net; Alcuin Papa, Philippine Daily Inquirer; and The Associated Press