Lawyers to file Rebellion and Sedition charges against Trillanes over "kill Duterte" remark in his privilege speech

The enemies of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV seems to have swelled outside the halls of the Senate.

A group of lawyers have accused Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of inciting sedition and rebellion when the opposition senator and one of the fiercest critics of the President  “encouraged the military to kill the President” in his privilege speech in the Senate last October.

Some of the lawyers in the group were identified as  former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto “Jing” Paras as well as lawyers Manuel Luna, Eligio Mallari, and Nasser Marohomsalic. *

Led by former Congressman Jacinto "Jing" Paras ( 2nd from left) this group announced that they will file sedition and rebellion case against Senator trillanes for the latters encouragement for the military to kill the Pres( photo credit PDI) 

This group has stated that they will soon file a case against the senator on the basis of his pronouncements about Mr. Duterte’s alleged ill-gotten wealth totaling 2 billion pesos.

By concocting lies and spurious documents, he has encouraged, he has called on the military to kill the President. Sabi niya, ‘Nako kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M-60 machine guns ang gagamitin sa ‘yo. Mauubos bala nito’, meaning kay Mr. President,” Paras said in a press conference held in a Quezon City

Senator Trillanes, in his privilege speech in the Senate last October 3, said that if soldiers would discover the amount of wealth Duterte had allegedly amassed, they might use up all the bullets of an M-60 machine gun.

“Kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M-60 ang gagamitin sa’yo kasi marami-rami ito. Mauubos ‘yung magasin, kung ₱40 million ‘yung hinahanap mo,” the opposition senator  said.

Paras said they are still studying where will they file the complaint but “definitely, it will be filed in two to three days.”

Paras said Trillanes, one of Duterte’s most vocal critics, committed a “criminal act of inciting the military and people to sedition, inciting to rebellion or creating a scenario for coup d’etat.” *

According to Mallari, the statement of Trillanes could not be considered a “mere symbolism.”

“That’s not symbolism. When you do such thing, that’s inciting to sedition and you’re calling on all the people to act against the President,” Mallari said.

Coordinated response?

This issue comes after  the opposition senator filed plunder complaint against Blue Ribbon chair Senator Richard “Dick” Gordon, the latter being part of the majority bloc that supports President Duterte.

In his complaint, Trillanes accused Gordon of supposedly funneling P193 million of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to the Red Cross, where the latter serves as chairperson, concurrent to being a senator. 

This, he said, constituted conflict of interest. 

“There is a very clear anomaly and/or conflict of interest in this case of Sen. Gordon making the allocation of the said funds because he has been a Governor and has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Philippine Red Cross since 2004 up to the present,” Trillanes said in his complaint. 

Also named respondent was former PRC Secretary-General Gwen Pang, who Trillanes alleged had disbursed money from Red Cross funds without the required approval of the PRC Board of Governors, and funds from Gordon's PDAF without public bidding.  *

The funds from both the PRC and Gordon's PDAF went to anomalous projects, Trillanes alleged. 

He also said Gordon has taken advantage of his position as PRC head to advance his political career, citing an anonymous email.

 

Report from PDI