The Department of National Defense (DND) said Tuesday it continues to “exhaust all efforts” to look for Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s amnesty application despite a military certification that there is no available copy of his records.
“The application is not available at the moment but hinahanap na as part of his defense. We are more than welcome to see it,” DND spokesperson Dir. Arsenio Andolong told reporters in a press briefing.
“We have not exhausted all efforts to find it. And as why they are missing we cannot answer that. We were not part of the process. We were not here at that time,” he added.
If the records are found, it will be part of the Trillanes’ defense, said military spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed a proclamation on August 31, 2018, revoking the amnesty given to Trillanes by former President Benigno S. Aquino III.
The amnesty was for cases filed against him in connection to the mutinies in 2003 and 2007, during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Part of the proclamation was a certification from the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel or J1 that says “there is no available copy of his application for amnesty records.”
Amid Mr. Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572, revoking Trillanes’ amnesty, the senator’s status will be reverted as an “active military personnel,” according to Arevalo.
Arevalo said acting AFP chief Lt. Gen. Salvador Mison has already made instruction to convene a general court martial to deal with “the case of Lt. Trillanes.” He explained that the court martial proceedings against the senator were just stopped due to the amnesty.
At the same time, the defense department and military also denied being politicized for being ordered to arrest Trillanes and being cited as part of the proclamation.
“It is not our place to comment on something like that. We follow the chain of command. Ang sa amin, whatever is constitutional, doon kami,” Arevalo said. /kga
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