Trillanes’ lawyers: Amnesty recipients not required to agree with state policies

Lawyers of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Wednesday that the receiver of an amnesty is not required to agree with state policies, amid talks that the lawmaker deserves to be arrested for criticizing the government.

“Sa tingin ko contrary doon sa idea ng amnesty niya iyong expressed or implied condition na magiging good boy ka, dahil nga kapag binigyan ka ng amnestiya, magstart ka ulit from the beginning,” lawyer Florin Hilbay said in a briefing on Wednesday.

(I think  the expressed or implied condition that you will be a good boy is contrary to the idea of an amnesty because if you are granted amnesty, you can start anew)

Hilbay, a former solicitor-general during the previous administration, shot down talks that President Rodrigo Duterte’s nullification of Trillanes’ amnesty is justified because the senator was “disrespectful.”

“So hindi pwede na merong kondisyon na habang hindi mo binabatikos ang susunod na mga administrasyon o iyong susunod na presidente ay okay ang amnestiya mo (It’s not possible that  there is a condition that unless you criticize the next president, your amnesty is good),” he said.

“It’s totally incompatible with the nature of an amnesty, na merong kundisyon na sumunod ka sa kung anong patakaran ng gobyerno (It is totally incompatible with the nature of an amnesty that there is a condition to follow government policies),” he added.

Former University of the Philippines (UP) law school dean Pacifico Agabin, another member of Trillanes’ panel reiterated that there should be no issue since the senator has complied with requirements, and has not violated any law since he was granted amnesty.

“He complied with all the conditions eh, nag-apply siya (he applied), he admitted, therefore, it is presumed that valid iyong amnesty na nabigay sa kanya (the amnesty is valid),” Agabin noted.

“Aside from that, ‘yong konsepto ng amnesty, binubura iyong mga pangyayari na nakalagay doon […] parang walang nangyari, kaya term na ginamit nga ng batas is ‘obliterated’,” he added.

(Aside from that, the concept of amnesty is that it erases the incidents described there […] as if nothing happened. That’s why the term that the law used is ‘obliterated.’)

When news broke out that his amnesty was revoked through the Proclamation 572 released by Malacañang on September 4, Trillanes opted to stay inside the Senate premises to avoid arrest.

Upon learning the issue, actor and Duterte supporter Robin Padilla went to the Senate in hopes of personally arresting Trillanes. In a video uploaded on Facebook, Padilla said that the senator’s amnesty should voided for disrespecting Duterte, an older person compared to Trillanes. /ee

READ: Robin Padilla challenges Sen. Trillanes: ‘Wag kang magtago sa saya ng Senado!’