By Jeffrey Damicog  Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has welcomed the decision of Makati City Judge Andres Soriano to conduct hearings to determine whether Senator Antonio Trillanes IV complied or not with his amnesty requirements. “The DOJ (Department of Justice) does not have any problem with Judge Soriano’s desire to study the issues further,” said Guevarra. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
(TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) “We are already very happy that he took cognizance of our motion, heard the parties, admitted the evidence, and issued the appropriate orders, instead of refusing to act at all. That is extremely significant from a legal and jurisdictional standpoint,” he added. The Secretary reminded that Judge Elmo Alameda of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 has already granted the DOJ motion seeking for the issuance of an arrest warrant and hold departure order (HDO) against Trillanes. The senator has already posted a P200,000 bail. “On the other hand, the bail imposed and the hold-departure order issued by Judge Alameda in the other case have provided adequate safeguards to assure the presence of Senator Trillanes for any further judicial proceedings,” the DOJ chief said. Soriano, who is the presiding judge of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 148, had already finished hearing the motion of the DOJ which sought the issuance of an arrest warrant and HDO against Trillanes. However, Soriano has issued an order on Friday to conduct a hearing on the reception of evidence this Oct. 5. The magistrate explained that “the Court deems it prudent and proper to set this case for hearing for reception of evidence on 1) whether or not Trillanes filed the requisite application for amnesty under Proclamation No. 75 before he was granted amnesty in 2011; 2) whether or not there was an admission of guilt on his part at the time he applied for and was granted amnesty.” Then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III issued Proclamation No. 75 which granted amnesty to Trillanes and others who participated in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. However, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 572 which declared as “void ab initio” or void from the start the amnesty granted to Trillanes for failing to comply with the requirements. Because of this, the DOJ filed separate motions asking Makati RTC Branches 148 and 150 for the issuance of arrest warrants and HDOs against Trillanes. Branch 148 is handling the coup d’etat case concerning the Oakwood mutiny while Branch 150 is handling the rebellion case over the Manila Peninsula incident.