Supreme Court upholds validity of Trillanes’ amnesty, rebuking Duterte order

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) upheld on Wednesday, April 3, the validity of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s amnesty.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh, the SC en banc ruled that former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 527, which revoked the former senator’s amnesty, was unconstitutional.

The High Court explained that a sitting president cannot revoke a granted amnesty without the Congress’ concurrence. In deciding in Trillanes’ case, the SC said it grounded on the “primacy of Bill of Rights” and “reaffirmed that neither the government nor any of its officials, including the President, are above the law.”

The SC added that the revocation of the amnesty, after it became final and without prior notice, violated the former senator’s constitutional right to due process. Duterte’s proclamation, which sought to revive Trillanes’ criminal cases that had already been dismissed, violated the former lawmaker’s rights against ex post facto laws and double jeopardy.

An ex post facto law, which is prohibited under the 1987 Constitution, is equivalent to penalizing a person for an act that may be illegal for a certain time, but was not illegal when the alleged crime was committed. The right against double jeopardy, meanwhile, ensures that a person will not be prosecuted for the same crime.

In addition, the SC said there was convincing evidence that Trillanes filed his amnesty application. The SC also noted that Duterte’s decision to revoke only Trillanes’ amnesty, even though the application forms of other amnesty grantees were also not available, was a violation of the former senator’s right to equal protection of the laws.

“The decision affirms that in balancing the exercise of presidential prerogatives and the protection of the citizens’ rights, the Constitution and the laws remain as the Court’s anchor and rudder,” the ruling read. – Rappler.com