Amnesty of others in Magdalo may be voided, too – DOJ

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV presents on Thursday, Sept. 6 a document from the Department of National Defense listing him among those who submitted applications for amnesty to the department’s ad hoc committee. BENJIE CASTRO / GMA NEWS

MANILA – The amnesty granted to the fellow former mutineers of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV under the Magdalo group may be voided next, according to the Department of Justice.

Their amnesty was currently under review and, just like Trillanes, the other Magdalo soldiers may be ordered rearrested as well, Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.

“Voiding the amnesty for the other Magdalo members is a possibility I cannot preempt,” Guevarra told the press during the celebration of the Justice department’s 121st anniversary.

“That’s the matter being reviewed by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) people – to check whether the other members of that group, the Magdalo group, might have also not complied,” he said.

“We cannot take away that risk that they’re found to be deficient or noncompliant with the requirements for amnesty. Any other person who might have not complied may suffer the same situation as Senator Trillanes,” he added.

The review of the amnesty granted to other Magdalo members proves that Trillanes, one of the fiercest critics of President Rodrigo Duterte, was not being singled out, Guevarra stressed.

“We cannot say the government is picking on him … and being selective. [It] just so happened that he’s the most vocal and he’s the leader of the pack, so to speak. So, it was just natural, if not logical, to start with him,” said the Justice secretary.

Others granted amnesty by then President Benigno Aquino III were Magdalo party-list’s Rep. Rodolfo Alejano and Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Nicanor Faeldon.

SOURCE: Panay News

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