Court resets Trillanes sedition arraignment over pending motion to quash case

MANILA, Philippines – Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has asked the Quezon City Law Metropolitan Trial Court to dismiss the conspiracy to commit inciting to sedition case against him for his alleged involvement in the series of “Narcolist” videos.

Trillanes’ arraignment was supposed to be today (Thursday), but his lawyer Atty. Reynaldo Robles said the court deferred it pending resolution on the motion to quash (dismissal of the case).

“The arraignment of former Sen. Trillanes was reset because of a pending motion to quash the information,” Robles said in a text message.

He said the prosecutors from the Department of Justice asked for 10 days to file their comments.

“After that, it [motion to quash] will be submitted for resolution,” he said.

A motion to quash is filed by an accused before arraignment. It challenges Information or charge sheet for defects apparent at face value. Once granted, its effect will be a dismissal of the case.

Trillanes joined the motion to quash filed by his co-accused Joselito Saracho, the alleged narrator on the “Narcolist” videos that tagged the President’s family and close allies of links to the drug trade.

“Accused Trillanes, after reading the subject motion, believes with great faith that the subject motion raised valid legal issues which must be first addressed and/or resolved before arraignment,” read Trillanes’ manifestation.

In Saracho’s motion to quash, he said the Information or charge sheet is defective as it failed to specify the facts to establish the allegation that there was a conspiracy to commit sedition.

However, in this case, he said the prosecution “miserably fails to contain any recital of factual allegations of the purported conspiracy.”

Because of the missing facts, “the Court and the accused must now conduct guesswork on the other important details left out by the prosecution in the Information on the alleged conspiracy,” the motion stated.

Meanwhile, the other co-accused, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva and Fr. Albert Alejo, pleaded not guilty during their arraignment.

The next hearing is set for Jan. 21, 2021.

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