President Duterte's Critic Arrested After Philippine Court Revives Old Rebellion Charges

September 25, 2018:

On Tuesday, Philippine Police arrested a lawmaker who is among President Rodrigo Duterte's most vocal critics. The action fallen just a minutes after a Court issued a warrant on revived charges of rebellion that were dropped in 2011 after an amnesty.

The arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes is the latest round in his sparring with Duterte. He accuses him of hiding wealth and being responsible for alleged executions of thousands of suspected criminals and drug dealers. Though all the allegations are denied by Duterte.

Trillanes has backed several complaints to the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking the President's citation for crimes against humanity and has protected people willing to testify against Duterte.

Trillanes who is a former Navy Officer has stated 'This is a debacle and a defeat of democracy' while accompanying Arresting Officers into a vehicle. He was taken to a Police Station to be photographed and fingerprinted before posting bail.

He expressed that he expected worst and said, 'We expect other forms of harassment in the days to come.'

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that it was time for Trillanes to stop grandstanding.

He said in one of his statement,'The court has spoken. Let us stop the drama by press conference and allow the legal process to take its course.'

Trillanes is a household name in the Philippines for his efforts to bring down the President.

He has stolen the political limelight in the three weeks since Duterte voided an amnesty given to him by predecessor Benigno Aquino, citing flaws in the procedure, including a missing application form.

He had been holed up in his office under the Senate's protection since Duterte's order for the Police and Army to arrest him. They were though reluctant to do so.

Duterte later agreed a Court warrant was necessary, following an outcry from opponents and legal experts who called it authoritarian and unconstitutional.

Trillanes received clemency after involvement in a failed 2003 coup and a mutiny four years later, both aimed at overthrowing then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, an ally of Duterte who is now lower house speaker.

Two Lower Courts had dismissed rebellion charges against him based on the amnesty.

On Tuesday, a poll showed Duterte suffered the biggest ratings slump of his presidency in the third quarter, amid signs of public unease about rising inflation and the cost of staple food grain rice.

Duterte's critics have accused him of trying to distract the public and prioritizing a settling of scores rather than tackling problems like inflation, which his office rejects.

Source:Reuters