Press Release
September 4, 2018

Dispatch from Crame No. 373:
Statement of Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Duterte's
revocation of Sen. Sonny Trillanes' amnesty

Kinokondena ko at mariing kinasusuklaman ang pagbawi ni Duterte ng amnestiya kay Sen. Sonny Trillanes. Ito ay mali, hindi makatwiran at walang basehan. Tunay na karimarimarim!

That Sen. Trillanes did not allegedly apply for amnesty, and that he did not supposedly make an admission of guilt, as stated in Duterte's Proclamation No. 572, are obviously baseless. There are records proving these, I'm sure. At nagsusumigaw ang maraming media sources noong Enero 2011 na nagsumite si Sen. Sonny ng amnesty application at may pag-amin sya sa mga diumano'y pagkakamali nyang nagawa.

Also, Proclamation No. 75, s. 2010 issued by then Pres. Aquino, which granted amnesty to Sen. Sonny and his group, was concurred in by both Houses of Congress via Concurrent Resolution No. 4 in 2010. This followed (the) constitutional requirement under Section 19 of Art. VII of the 1987 Constitution. Such joint act of Congress and the Executive cannot just simply be undone or abrogated by Duterte alone.

Likewise, in the particular case of Sen. Sonny, there have been vested rights (accruing) already from the time his amnesty was granted. Hindi na ito mababalewala pa na hindi nalalabag ang mga probisyon ng ating mga batas, na nahahalintulad sa doktrina ng non-impairment of contracts sa Sec. 10 ng ating Bill of Rights.

If there is ZERO basis in fact and in law to revoke Sen. Sonny's amnesty, then, why did Duterte issue his Proclamation? Walang legal, legal dito. It was simply a political move to try to silence Senator Trillanes. Another palpable case of political persecution.

Nagpapanic na si Duterte. Nasusukol na sya sa kanyang mga kawalanghiyaan, kabuktutan, kasinungalingan at asal-diktador. Nakikita na rin ng marami ang kapalpakan at kawalang liderato ni Duterte sa maraming isyu gaya ng papataas pang presyo ng mga bilihin at krisis sa bigas at isda. Lumalaki na ang oposisyong umaalma sa kanya. Kaya binabalingan ni Duterte ang mga lider na gaya ni Sen. Sonny.

Pero, mabibigo ka, Duterte. Magwawakas din ang iyong kasamaan. At mananagot ka sa iyong mga kasalanan.

Kay Sen. Sonny at iba pang kasamahan ko sa oposisyon: Tatagan nyo po ang inyong loob at laging manalig sa Diyos at sa bayan na matatapos din ang kadiliman at kawalang katarungang ito.

Tuloy ang laban!

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