Lawyers to sue Trillanes over ‘kill Duterte’ remark

A group of lawyers led by ex-congressman Jacinto “Jing” Paras (second from left) announce their plan to file inciting to sedition and rebellion case against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The lawyers said the opposition senator committed a criminal act when he “encouraged the military to kill the President” in his last privilege speech last October. (INQUIRER.net / JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS)

A group of lawyers have accused Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of inciting sedition and rebellion when the opposition senator “encouraged the military to kill the President” in his privilege speech last October.

The lawyers said they would soon file a case against Trillanes on the basis of his recent pronouncements about Mr. Duterte’s alleged ill-gotten wealth totaling P2 billion.

The complainants would include Former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto “Jing” Paras as well as lawyers Manuel Luna, Eligio Mallari, and Nasser Marohomsalic.

“By concocting lies and spurious documents, he has encouraged, he has called on the military to kill the President. Sabi niya, ‘Nako kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M-60 machine guns ang gagamitin sa ‘yo. Mauubos bala nito’, meaning kay Mr. President,” Paras said in a press conference held in a Quezon City restaurant on Thursday.

Trillanes, in his privilege speech in the Senate last October 3, said that if soldiers would discover the amount of wealth Duterte had allegedly amassed, they might use up all the bullets of an M-60 machine gun.

“Kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M-60 ang gagamitin sa’yo kasi marami-rami ito. Mauubos ‘yung magasin, kung ₱40 million ‘yung hinahanap mo,” he said.

Paras said they are still studying where will they file the complaint but “definitely, it will be filed in two to three days.”

Paras said Trillanes, one of Duterte’s most vocal critics, committed a “criminal act of inciting the military and people to sedition, inciting to rebellion or creating a scenario for coup d’etat.”

According to Mallari, the statement of Trillanes could not be considered a “mere symbolism.”

“That’s not symbolism. When you do such thing, that’s inciting to sedition and you’re calling on all the people to act against the President,” Mallari said.         /kga