Calida demands apology from Trillanes for calling him a ‘thief’

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Wednesday demanded an apology from Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for accusing him of stealing the senator’s amnesty papers.

If not, Calida threatened to file a criminal case for libel plus damages against Trillanes.

“Mr. Trillanes ranted to the media yesterday that I ‘stole’ his amnesty application document. In effect, Mr. Trillanes maliciously branded me as a thief, which I’m not,” Calida said in a statement.

“Unless Mr. Trillanes expresses his sincere apology for calling me a thief, I shall be constrained to file a criminal case for libel plus damages against him,” he added.

Speaking to the media, Trillanes had asked the military and the Defense department why they allowed Calida to take his amnesty documents.

READ: Trillanes to AFP, DND: Show some balls, stand up for the truth

But Calida said Trillanes’ “rationality (assuming he had one) has deserted him.”

“First, what is there to steal when Lt. Col. Thea Joan N. Andrade, Chief of the Discipline, Law and Order Division of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel (J1) who is the custodian of the records issued a Certification that there is no available copy of Trillanes’ application for amnesty in the records,” Calida asked.

“Second, I have never entered the offices of the J1 or the Personnel Division of the AFP at Camp Aguinaldo so how could I ‘steal’ documents kept there,” he added.

Calida reiterated that the basis of Proclamation 572 is Trillanes’ non-compliance with the basic requirements of submitting an application form and admitting his guilt.

The Solicitor General even pointed out that the senator himself, in television interviews, said said he does not admit to the charge of coup d’etat.

“If we follow the convoluted logic of Mr. Trillanes, he’s saying that he did not commit the crimes that were covered by the amnesty. If that is what he really means, then he has no need for amnesty because when one applies for amnesty he must expressly admit his guilt to the crimes he committed. Moreover, DND-AC Circular No. 1 further requires the applicants to recant all previous statements inconsistent with the requirement of admission of that guilt which he never did,” Calida said.

The Solicitor General denied having a hand in the revocation of Trillanes’ amnesty.

However, President Rodrigo Duterte himself said it was Calida who found the flaw in Trillanes’ amnesty documents.

Even Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Calida called him and asked about Trillanes’ amnesty documents.

Lorenzana said he instructed the Judge Advocate General Service (JAGS) to assist Calida. /je

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