OP ED EDITORIAL & CARTOONS: MANILA- Void from the start?
The criminal cases against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV were revived after the amnesty granted to him by then president Benigno Aquino III was declared void by President Duterte. While the amnesty was granted to a group of rebel soldiers following the same procedures, only Trillanes lost the privilege.
Malacañang argues that the amnesty granted to Trillanes was invalid because he did not apply for it, and only Aquino’s defense chief Voltaire Gazmin approved it. Aquino has said his amnesty proclamation covered all the rebel soldiers.
Yesterday, Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati Regional Trial Court’s Branch 150 set aside materials presented by Trillanes to prove that his amnesty grant is valid. Alameda went along with the petition of the Department of Justice and ordered Trillanes’ arrest for rebellion. But the judge allowed Trillanes to post P200,000 bail.
Trillanes might yet end up back in detention for the crime of coup d’etat in connection with the Oakwood mutiny. This was filed before another Makati trial court, Branch 148. The offense normally does not allow bail.
Malacañang voided the amnesty on the same day that Trillanes’ committee began its probe into possible conflict of interest and graft against Solicitor General Jose Calida, whose family-owned security company has bagged several contracts with various government agencies. The President said the voiding of Trillanes’ amnesty was the idea of Calida, who was also the one who initiated a quo warranto petition to kick out Maria Lourdes Sereno as chief justice.
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Still to be resolved is whether Malacañang can void an amnesty without Senate approval for individual recipients. The Supreme Court under Teresita de Castro, however, has refused to touch the amnesty issue.
Some quarters argue that what applies to one should apply to all. With Alameda’s order, all the other rebel soldiers who were given amnesty together with Trillanes, some of them now working for the government, are in limbo.
The amnesty given by Fidel Ramos during his presidency to those who launched coup attempts against Corazon Aquino may also be affected. Among the recipients are Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Armed Forces chief Carlito Galvez and Chairman Danilo Lim of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
If the government is challenging the validity of Trillanes’ amnesty, it should also go after the other recipients. Failing to do this bolsters accusations that the government, supported by a compliant judiciary, is engaged not in prosecution but persecution of its critics.
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ASEANEWS EDITORIAL & CARTOONS:
7.4. The Manila Times – WAR
7.6 The Philippine Star – Void from the start?
8.0. The Straits Times
The Straits Times says:
Abe needs sharper focus in third term
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Japan’s most hawkish premier since World War II is set to become its longest-serving one. Mr Shinzo Abe last week won the leadership contest of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and will remain as prime minister for a third consecutive three-year term from next month. With a two-thirds majority in each Chamber of Parliament and sturdy approval ratings that survived two favouritism scandals, he is well placed to continue chasing his goals: getting the slow-moving economy to hum, arresting a decline in population and revising the country’s pacifist Constitution.
But the climb hereon gets steeper. The monetary and fiscal measures that were the first two arrows of Abenomics halted decades of deflation, brought unemployment to the lowest in nearly 25 years and filled up the coffers of companies as well as the government. The Nikkei Stock Average more than doubled since Mr Abe moved into Kantei in 2012. In his third term, he is expected to make more headway with the third arrow of Abenomics, which calls for structural reforms and further opening up of one of the world’s most closed-off nations. An essential component is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, derailed by US President Donald Trump last year and admirably rescued by Mr Abe, working in concert with other partner nations. His support for the even broader Asean-led deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, is a step in the same direction to create more opportunities for trade and growth.
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TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/abe-needs-sharper-focus-in-third-term
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