It was a long day for Philippine opposition Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV yesterday after President Rodrigo Duterte revoked the amnesty previously granted to him and ordered his arrest.
So much so that the solon even spent the night in his office at the Philippine Senate in Pasay City, saying that he has no plans to leave until the issue is settled.
“[I will sleep here] until this is resolved, either for me or against me,” he told reporters last night, GMA News reported.
Under the Philippine Constitution, lawmakers are only safe from arrest while Congress is in session if the offense is punishable by not more than six years imprisonment.
However, senators have decided to give Trillanes sanctuary, including Duterte supporter and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III who apparently promised Trillanes that he cannot be arrested within the Senate’s premises.
Trillanes is a retired Navy officer who won a Senate seat in 2007 despite being in prison for his participation in what is known as the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, an attempt to overthrow then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
He also led the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007, another coup attempt.
In 2010, then-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III granted Trillanes amnesty, giving him provisional freedom.
Today, Trillanes is known as a staunch Duterte critic. Last year, he even called the administration an “epic failure” for failing to meet Duterte’s campaign promises.
The president isn’t a fan of his either.
Last year, Duterte alleged that Trillanes had undeclared wealth kept in illegal offshore bank accounts in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and America.
To prove him wrong, the senator went so far as going to a DBS branch in Singapore with a print out of his supposed bank account, photos of which had gone viral.
The teller he spoke with confirmed that there was no such account.
Shortly after this revelation, Duterte admitted that he faked the account number he linked to Trillanes to “catch” him lying.
Duterte revoked Trillanes’ amnesty because the senator allegedly did not file an Official Amnesty Application Form.
However, a spokesperson for President Aquino posted on Twitter yesterday a photo of what she said is the document that Duterte claimed does not exist.
Trillanes’ application for amnesty must have disappeared into the Room of Requirement, where unwanted or lost things go 😉 pic.twitter.com/X6T48Hpx8v
— Abi Valte (@Abi_Valte) September 4, 2018
Although Trillanes plans to remain in Senate custody, he said that he is not hiding.
“If I’ll be arrested. I’ll go with them and pack my things,” he told reporters in Filipino yesterday. “I will not hide … I will face this.”
