|
Friday, June 15, 2007
Trillanes to be proclaimed senator on Friday
MANILA -- In what could be a first in the country's political history, a detained rebel officer--Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV--will be proclaimed as senator on Friday.
"It is already mathematically improbable to overcome his (Trillanes) lead so it is just right (for us) to proclaim him," said Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
View here the list of local winners
He added that the proclamation of Trillanes would be at the Comelec main office in Intramuros, Manila at 10 a.m.
As of Thursday, Trillanes has already garnered 11,138,067 votes giving him a lead of 272,670 votes over fellow Genuine Opposition (GO) candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, who is in 12th place with 10,865,397 votes.
Team Unity (TU) candidate Juan Miguel Zubiri is still in 13th place with 10,753,836.
The Comelec already canvassed the certificate of canvass (COC) from Surigao del Norte. Only the controversial COC from Maguindanao has not been canvassed.
Trillanes's proclamation had been deferred pending the canvassing of some COCs from Mindanao.
Trillanes is detained at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City for coup d'etat charges following the short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003.
Reynaldo Robles, counsel of Trillanes, said they would try to get the court's permission to allow Trillanes to attend the proclamation ceremony.
Robles said his client had been very anxious over his prolonged proclamation, adding that they had believed since last week that the lead of Trillanes had earned him a spot in the Magic 12.
With Trillanes's proclamation, the GO already has seven winners compared to TU, which only has two.
Proclaimed last week were GO candidates Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Panfilo Lacson, Manuel Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano and Benigno Aquino III; TU's Joker Arroyo and Edgardo Angara; and independent candidates Francis Pangilinan and Gregorio Honasan.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said they will not oppose the proclamation of Trillanes but ruled out immunity for the incoming lawmaker.
Trillanes's counsel Reynaldo Robles appeared at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to get assurance from the prosecution that they will not pose objections to his client's proclamation Friday at the Commission on Elections in Intramuros, Manila.
Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon said even if Trillanes's presence during the proclamation is not needed, they have decided not to pose any opposition so as not to make it appear that the DOJ is harassing the Navy officer.
"This has been discussed weeks ago after it was manifested in court by Trillanes's lawyer that he might be proclaimed as senator, and we agree with the (department of) defense that we will not object so as not to delay the proceedings," he said in an interview.
Fadullon said Trillanes will not be accorded preferential treatment despite his upgraded status nor will the criminal charges against him be dropped.
He said that congressional immunity will not apply to Trillanes because he is facing a coup charge, a heinous offense punishable by life imprisonment.
Immunity, the prosecutor said, may only be granted to persons whose offense is punishable by not more then six years.
State prosecutors further said Trillanes has to seek court permission to be able to attend any Senate activities or functions, subject to several conditions.
Among the conditions are that he will inform the court of when he will leave his detention cell to attend Senate hearings and render report on the matter; that adequate security will be provided to him; and that he will not talk about the case to the media.
"We made this very clear to him. This will not be the first and last time that he will be interviewed. We want to make sure that there will be no utterances that will put the government in a bad light," said Fadullon.
Robles said Trillanes has no intention of seeking Senate custody so he could obtain temporary liberty.
"He is not interested in Senate custody, just an opportunity to perform his function. He wants to attend the proclamation because he feels that he owes thanks to the people who voted for him," he said.
Trillanes's lawyer also said that with the current advances in technology, it might not prove too difficult for the senator-elect to be personally present during a Senate hearing. (MSN/ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (June 15, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
