Antonio Trillanes IV
A military officer has issued an affidavit essentially supporting the assertion of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV that he, as a military rebel, filed an amnesty application in January 2011 that included a general admission of guilt.
Trillanes on Monday submitted the affidavit of Col. Josefa Berbigal, an officer at the Judge Advocate General鈥檚 office, to Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branches 148 and 150, which were hearing the motions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to have him arrested for rebellion and coup d鈥櫭﹖at.
Berbigal headed the secretariat of the temporary amnesty committee of the Department of National Defense (DND) that processed the applications in accordance with Proclamation No. 75 issued in 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III granting amnesty to military officers and servicemen who took part in the 2003, 2006 and 2007 attempts to overthrow then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Trillanes also submitted the affidavit of former Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta stating that Trillanes鈥� amnesty application was among those recommended for approval by the committee, and which underwent the necessary procedures.
No amnesty application?
The DOJ鈥檚 move to have Trillanes arrested stemmed from President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 voiding of Trillanes鈥� amnesty on the ground that he did not file an official application form nor admitted his guilt.
The President鈥檚 Proclamation No. 572 was anchored on a certification from the defense department that there was 鈥渘o available copy of [Trillanes鈥橾 application for amnesty in the records.鈥�
But Trillanes said Berbigal鈥檚 affidavit showed gaping holes in the President鈥檚 proclamation voiding his amnesty.
鈥淎ll the holes are not in our camp, but are with [Solicitor General Jose] Calida and Duterte, who have arguments full of holes,鈥� he told reporters at the Senate on Monday.
In her affidavit, Berbigal said she personally handled Trillanes鈥� application for amnesty.
鈥淚 know that Senator Trillanes filed his amnesty application because I was the one who personally received Senator Trillanes鈥� amnesty application on Jan. 5, 2011,鈥� she said.
Official form
Berbigal said the application was filed 鈥渦sing the official form provided by the DND ad hoc amnesty committee.鈥�
She said that before she received Trillanes鈥� application form, she asked him to read the preprinted statement in the form 鈥渕aking a general admission of his guilt for his alleged offenses鈥� before asking him to take his oath.
The committee later found Trillanes鈥� application 鈥渢o be in order, complete and in compliance with all of the requirements of Proclamation No. 75, Series of 2010, as well as its implementing rules,鈥� she said.
The committee recommended the approval of Trillanes鈥� application, she said.
Trillanes on Monday also disputed claims that President Aquino could not delegate the grant of amnesty, and that his amnesty certificate should have been signed by the President.
He pointed out that the grant of amnesty was contained in Proclamation No. 75 signed by Aquino.
The amnesty certificate given to the soldiers need not be signed by the President himself as this was not a constitutional requirement, he said.
1987, 1989 coup attempts
He showed a copy of an amnesty certificate issued in 2001 for the 1987 and 1989 coup attempts. The certificate was not signed by the President, but by members of the national amnesty commission.
It鈥檚 鈥渃ommon sense鈥� that the President need to sign only the proclamation, while the certificates would be signed by to whoever he delegated the task, he said.
He said Proclamation 75 only required a general admission of guilt.
Trillanes also presented photos showing that he had his Supreme Court petition challenging the voiding of his amnesty notarized before filing it.
This was in response to Calida鈥檚 assertions that the petition was not notarized.
Calida has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Trillanes鈥� challenge to Proclamation No. 572, claiming the former military mutineer made a 鈥渕isrepresentation鈥� regarding his amnesty in order to secure the dismissal of the coup d鈥櫭﹖at and rebellion charges against him.
Cases dismissed
Trillanes argued that he could no longer be arrested and the charges could not be revived because Makati RTC Branches 148 and 150 dismissed the charges in September 2011, extinguishing his liability.
In its Supreme Court filing, however, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said the dismissal orders 鈥渕ay be characterized as void鈥� and Trillanes should be put on trial again in 鈥渢he pursuit of a policy of rectification.鈥�
The OSG insisted that Trillanes failed to file an application for amnesty and admit his guilt, pointing out that the senator did not attach a copy of the document when he filed his Supreme Court petition on Sept. 6.
It also cited the admission of Trillanes鈥� lawyer Reynaldo Robles, who told Makati RTC Branch 150 during a hearing on Sept. 13 that the senator had no copy of his application form.
The OSG argued that Section 19, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution required congressional concurrence only for the grant of amnesty, not for its revocation.
It said Aquino鈥檚 delegation of his 鈥渁uthority to grant clemency鈥� violated Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution, noting that executive clemency or pardon pertains to convicts, which Trillanes was not since his cases were dismissed due to the amnesty.
The OSG argued that although Aquino granted 鈥済eneral amnesty鈥� to mutinous soldiers through Proclamation No. 75 in 2010, the 鈥渁ctual and specific amnesty鈥� to Trillanes 鈥渙nly came on Jan. 21, 2011鈥� after it was granted by the DND amnesty committee.