MANILA – (UPDATE) Senator Antonio Trillanes said Tuesday the invalidation of amnesty for him was a "bogus" and "trumped up" move, adding he was considering all legal options to counter it.
Trillanes faces arrest and a revival of criminal and administrative complaints against him after President Rodrigo Duterte voided the amnesty from former President Benigno Aquino.
"It's a clear case of political persecution. Wala silang mahanap na kaso sa akin so kailangan nila mag-imbento," Trillanes told reporters.
(They can't find a case against me so they trumped up charges.)
Trillanes said he would neither escape nor resist arrest.
"Kung ipapaaresto e di sasama ako at mag-iimpake," the senator said.
(If I'll be arrested. I'll go with them and pack my things.)
"Hindi ako magtatago, definitely... I will not resist arrest, I will not escape. Haharapin ko ito," he said
(I will not hide... I will face this.)
Asked if he would ask for the Senate's protection from arrest, Trillanes said: "I will abide by the wisdom of the Senate leadership."
NO APPLICATION, NO AMNESTY
Duterte, in a proclamation revoking Trilanes' amnesty, said the senator was granted the reprieve even if he did not file an application form and failed to express guilt for his crimes.
Trillanes denies this, saying "Hindi ka bibigyan ng amnesty kung wala kang application."
(You will not be given amnesty without an application.)
Duterte's predecessor, former President Benigno Aquino, granted amnesty to Trillanes and several other military rebels in 2011, leading to his release from detention.
As a Navy lieutenant, Trillanes and his Magdalo band of soldiers and junior officers occupied the Oakwood Hotel in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula Hotel in 2007 to protest alleged corruption under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Abigail Valte, a spokesperson of the Aquino administration, shared on Twitter a clip of Trillanes filing his amnesty application.
A list of amnesty applicants released by the Department of Defense in 2011 also includes Trillanes.
MOVE TO STOP CALIDA PROBE?
Trillanes accused the Duterte administration of "trying everything" to stop a legislative inquiry that he is seeking against Solicitor General Jose Calida, whose security firm allegedly bagged government contracts.
An amnesty is an act of Congress and cannot be superseded by an executive proclamation, he said.
"Itong pangyayari na ito should be clear to everyone na itong si Mr. Duterte ay isang diktador. Hindi siya rumerespeto sa mga institusyon kaya ganito tayo," said Trillanes.
(This incident should make it clear to everyone that Mr. Duterte is a dictator. He does not respect institutions.)
"Kung iyung mga ordinaryong pinapatay, iyung mga kritiko niya ikukulong. Ganyan ang kalalaran sa Pilipinas ngayon," he added.
(While ordinary citizens are killed, his critics are jailed. That is the current situation in the Philippines.)
Senator Leila De Lima, another administration critic, was detained on drug charges last year, which she denied.