Thursday, April 24, 2008 Trial of Trillanes, soldiers in standoff deferred
THE pre-trial of the rebellion case of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and the soldiers who took over the Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati last November has been moved to June 4 following a motion for a re-setting by the defense.
Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 granted the motion of lawyer Ernesto Francisco to give the Court of Appeals (CA) sufficient time to rule on his petition for certiorari that questioned the indictment of his clients.
Francisco earlier filed the motion before the appellate court questioning the lower court finding of probable cause that resulted in the filing of the rebellion case against Trillanes, former Scout Ranger regiment commander Danilo Lim and 16 other Magdalo soldiers in connection with last year's Manila Peninsula Hotel standoff.
Originally scheduled last Wednesday, the pre-trial was reset to June 4, a member of Alameda's staff said.
Under the rules of court, the pre-trial involves a discussion on, among other things, the possibility of a plea bargain, stipulation of facts, marking for identification of evidence, and waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence.
Francisco, who represents Trillanes and 16 other junior officers belonging to the "Magdalo" group, said his clients were not considering even just the possibility of a plea bargain.
Trillanes, along with Lim, who is represented by lawyer Vicente Verdadero, and 17 junior officers are facing rebellion charges before the Makati RTC.
Francisco said his clients were firm in their contention that no rebellion took place in their takeover of the Makati luxury hotel on November 29, 2007.
"We're not even considering a plea bargain," he said.
Earlier, Trillanes said he would no longer participate in more court proceedings calling it a "travesty of justice" while adding that their stand had already been vindicated by the series of scandals and trails of corruption involving the Arroyo administration.
The court has dismissed the same charges against their civilian co-accused including former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., former University of the Philippines (UP) president Francisco Nemenzo Jr., actress Bibeth Orteza and Infanta Bishop Emeritus Julius Labayen for lack of evidence. (AH/Sunnex)
