Lack of witnesses prompts Makati Court to reset Trillanes’ rebellion trial anew

MANILA, Philippines – The trial of former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been rescheduled anew because there is no available witness to testify for the prosecution.

In an order dated Jan. 27, 2020, Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 has rescheduled the trial to April.

“There being no available witness to testify for the prosecution, Prosecutor [Gino Paulo] Santiago moved for a resetting. Despite the objection of Atty. [Reynaldo] Robles, the court is inclined to grant the prosecution’s oral motion in the exercise of its sound discretion invoking the interest of substantial justice,” Judge Elmo M. Alameda said in his order.

Since the rebellion trial started, the prosecution has presented only one witness–Assistant State Prosecutor Mary Jane Sytat during the July 22, 2019 trial.

During the July 22, 2019 trial, the prosecution announced that its next witness will either be Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Danilo Lim or former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director Nicanor Faeldon.

However, during the October 2019 hearing, the prosecution cited communication problems with Faeldon due to the conflict in the Senate’s investigation about the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) mess.

The court then reset the trial to November 18, 2019, but moved it to today.

In its latest order, the court said the next hearing is on the afternoon of April 20, 2020.

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