Gov’t Wants Trillanes and Company Locked Up in Muntinlupa
Gov’t wants Trillanes and company locked up in Muntinlupa December 04, 2007 13:48:00Thea Alberto INQUIRER.net MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) Government prosecutors and security officials will seek the transfer of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and his 35 co-accused in the Makati standoff to the national penitentiary to prevent them from escaping, officials said Tuesday.
Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus said at a press conference the prosecutors will cite security considerations when they ask the courts to transfer Trillanes, Army Brigadier General Danilo Lim and the others accused of the non-bailable crime of rebellion to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City from the Custodial Center in Camp Crame.
“We have studied the matter carefully and weighed the factors regarding the safety and security of the accused, and decided that the best way to secure them while they are awaiting the trial of their rebellion case is to house them in Muntinlupa,” Corpus said.Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco said the motion will be filed Wednesday.
Velasco however clarified that former vice president Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Julio Labayen and former University of the Philippines president Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo, who have all been released on recognizance, will not be brought to Muntinlupa should the courts approve the transfer.
The release of the three, who are all elderly, was approved by the prosecuting panel during inquest proceedings last week and Velasco, who headed the panel, said this was unlikely to be overturned by the Department of Justice.
Velasco said they will also request that future hearings be conducted at the penitentiary to ensure the prosecutors’ peace of mind.
“This would also entail a lot of savings on the part of the government because we lessen expenses for escorts, and the prosecutors will also have peace of mind that no one would walk out again,” Velasco said.
Colonel Pedro Herera-Davila, head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Judge Advocate General’s Office posed no objections to the transfer of Trillanes and his co-accused to the national penitentiary.
“When the prisoners managed to escape from military control after the failed power grab, it was civilian authorities who rearrested them, and whoever arrests them first, the AFP is prepared to grant full cooperation,” Davila told a press conference at Camp Crame.
Velasco also pointed out the human rights of the accused would not be violated if hearings are conducted at the penitentiary.
“There will be no violation of rights because the presumption of innocence is still there,” he said.
Aside from Trillanes, those accused for violating Article 134 of the Revised Penal Code, or rebellion, are Guingona, Lim, Labayen, Fr. Robert Reyes, Captain Gary Alejano, Captain Segundino Orfiano Jr., Lieutenant Senior Grades Manuel Cabochan and James Layug, Lieutenant Junior Grade Arturo Pascua Jr., 1st Lieutenants Eugene Peralta, Billy Pasua and Jonel Sangalan;
Lieutenant Andy Torrato, Ensigns Armand Pontejos, lawyers J.V. Bautista and Yassir Gonzales, Corporal Clecarde Dahan, Privates First Class Juanito Jilbury, Emmanuel Tirador and German Linde; Antonio Trillanes III, Myrna Buendia, Dominador Rull Jr., Romeo Solis, Roel Gadon, Rommel Loreto, Julian Advincula, Francisco Bosi; Leodor Dela Cruz, Sonny Madarang, Elizabeth Siguion-Reyna, Francisco Penaflor, and several John and Jane Does.
