The bid of detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and senatorial candidate Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim to post bail on rebellion charges over The Peninsula Manila hotel standoff three years ago was granted Wednesday by a Makati City court.

Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati City Regional Trial Court, Branch 150, granted the motion and allowed Trillanes, Lim, and 16 others to post P200,000 bail bond each for their temporary liberty on charges that they allegedly took over The Peninsula Manila hotel and called for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign.

The 16 other accused allowed to post bail are: Capt. Gary C. Alejano, LtSG. Eugene P. Gonzalez, LtSG. Andy G. Torrato, LtJG. Arturo S. Pascua Jr., Capt. Segundino P. Orfiano Jr., 1Lt. Billy S. Pascua, Cpl. Clecarte D. Dahan, Pfc. Juanito S. Jilbury, Pfc. Emmanuel C. Tirador, Pfc. German M. Linde, Julius J. Mesa, Cesari Yasser T. Gonzales, LtSG. James Layug, LtSG. Manuel G. Cabochan, 2Lt. Jonnell P. Sangalang, and Ens. Armand Pontejos.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, however, said state prosecutors are expected to file a motion for reconsideration to block the bail granted on Trillanes and company.

Despite the grant of bail, Trillanes will remain in detention as he is still facing a non-bailable criminal complaint of coup d’etat in another Makati court. He is also facing charges before a a military tribunal on charges of conduct unbecoming of an officer, both arising from the 2002 Oakwood mutiny in Makati.

In a 16-page decision, Judge Alameda said that the prosecution failed to establish, during the bail hearing, that the evidence of guilt of the accused for the crime of rebellion is strong.

“No direct, material and competent evidence was adduced to prove the specific acts committed by the accused constituting the crime of rebellion,” said the court.

The prosecution failed to demonstrate that the accused were involved in the public uprising by substantial number of rebels, took up arms against the government, and there was a vast movement of men and a complex net of intrigues and plots, there was a civil war, and the Chief Executive was deprived wholly or partially of her powers and prerogatives.

The prosecution presented police officers and security officers who proceeded to Makati City during the walkout that resulted in the siege that included Senior Inspector Fernando Reyes. However, the court belittled his testimony as it was only “based on what he allegedly saw and viewed from TV screen.

“The prosecution failed to lay down sufficient foundation on the admissibility of his testimony, the prosecution should have presented an authenticated DVD disc showing the footages relating to the testimony,” the court noted.

Moreover, the marching of the military men in the streets of Makati City does not constitute rebellion. The court said that the walkout from the court, marching, and press conference held at the Peninsula Manila on November 29, 2007, denouncing the administration of President Arroyo, are “not sufficient to prove the non-bailable crime of rebellion.”

“The walkout from the courtroom of Judge (Oscar) Pimentel in the middle of a hearing by the accused can only be considered a contumacious conduct constitutive of direct contempt and not rebellion,” said judge Alameda.

The case stemmed from the walkout led by Trillanes and Lim during the hearing of the coup d'etat case against the Magdalo Group that occurred on February, 2006, before the sala of Judge Oscar Pimentel of the Makati RTC,Branch 148, and called upon the Filipino people to withdraw support from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Atty. Ernesto Francisco, lawyer for the accused, said he will file a motion for the reduction of bail bond to P80,000, as his clients could not have enough money to pay the P200,000 bail bond.

Meanhile, of the 31 persons facing coup charges, only Trillanes and three others remain detained. The 27 had been pardoned after entering a guilty plea.

Rodolfo G. Biazon, chairman of the Senate National Defense and Security Committee, told reporters that Trillanes has hurdled one step in his legal battles.

Senator Gregorio Honasan, one of the movers of several aborted coups against then President Corazon C. Aquino in the 80s, said he is happy that justice has been served.

With this development, Honasan said “the wheels of justice are turning and that’s good because one of the social problems is the failure to serve justice.’’ (With a report from Genalyn Kabiling)