Philippines: Santiago’s Move to Remove Trillanes Opposed

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel,
Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said he will oppose a move
initiated by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to suspend
or expel Sen. Antonio Trillanes from the Senate for
leading a group of renegade soldiers in occupying the
Peninsula Hotel in Makati City and calling anew for
the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Pimentel said offenses committed by Trillanes properly
fall more under the jurisdiction of the judiciary,
rather than the Senate.

In fact, he pointed out that Trillanes has already
been slapped with new charges of rebellion by justice
and law enforcement authorities and it would be up to
the courts to act upon them.

Pimentel said he is saddened by the plan of Santiago
to file a resolution for Trillanes to be investigated
by the committee on ethics and privileges in a bid to
impose disciplinary sanctions on the neophyte senator
in connection with the Makati incident.

“Miriam is my friend, but I have to oppose her move.
Sen. Trillanes is already being punished. In my view,
it is not right that he will be punished again by the
Senate.”

It would be unfair to punish Trillanes with suspension
or expulsion because in the first place, he has not
been allowed by the courts to perform his official
functions by way of attending the sessions and
hearings of the Senate due to the pending coup charges
against him in connection with the 2003 Oakwood
mutiny.

Pimentel said that after Santiago files her
resolution, it will be debated by the senators on the
floor to determine if there is a basis to pursue the
investigation before it is referred to the appropriate
committee.

“But I will oppose any move to impose disciplinary
sanctions on Sen. Trillanes. It is enough that he has
been arrested and jailed by to the authorities and
charged formally with the courts. Let justice take its
course.”

Upon the convening of the 14th regular session, the
Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling on
Malacañang and the judiciary to allow Trillanes to
attend the sessions and hearings of the Senate in
keeping with the mandate granted to him by the people
as an elected senator. But this appeal was rejected by
the Makati Regional Trial Court. This was one of the
main reasons which motivated Trillanes to walk out of
his court trial in defiance of the law.
-o0o-

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