Although President-elect Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III believes that detained Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and the other Magdalo soldiers involved in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula Siege are not guilty of coup d’etat and rebellion, he cannot promise them executive clemency.

A known sympathizer of Trillanes and ally of Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, Aquino said he will respect the proceedings against the Magdalo soldiers at the Makati Regional Trial Court.

“The court is a co-equal branch of the executive. As such, mere executive action is not enough to solve the case. There is a process that has to be undergone, which we should respect,” he said in reaction to the suggestion of Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel for the next administration to intervene in the Magdalo soldiers’ cases.

Pimentel reportedly urged Aquino to pardon Trillanes and the other Magdalo soldiers but the incoming president said this is premature.

“Pardon only comes after final conviction, which will still undergo the appeal processes, and there has to be a recommendation from the Board of Pardons,” Aquino said.

Still, Aquino promised to have cases against the Magdalo soldiers reviewed by the Department of Justice, believing these should have been junked at the fiscal level.

Meanwhile, Lim said he expects to get justice under the Aquino administration.

“It doesn’t matter how soon. What is important is that political prisoners like us are confident about the political atmosphere in the next six years. After all, we (Aquino and the Magdalo soldiers) are both identified with the opposition before the elections,” said Lim, who is free on bail.

In a related development, Pimentel, Jr. called on the incoming Senate to implement an already approved resolution to allow detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to participate in sessions despite his incarceration.

Trillanes has yet to participate in plenary deliberations since he won the senatorial race in May 2007 mid-term elections with the mandate of 11 million Filipinos voters.

Pimentel said adverse court rulings had rendered the resolutions of the upper chamber for Trillanes unimplemented.

Pimentel said he is dismayed that the coup d’ etat charges filed against Trillanes in connection with his involvement in the failed mutiny in 2003 remain unresolved by the courts.

The outgoing senator said Trillanes should be allowed to participate even through electronic means if only to prevent his electoral mandate from being put to waste.

He also lamented the refusal of the Makati Regional Trial Court and later the Supreme Court to grant Trillanes’ petition to post bail to enable him to discharge his legislative duties.

“When Trillanes was voted by the people, he was already in detention. They were in effect telling the government, let him function as a senator,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel hopes the courts would reverse their rulings on Trillanes’ petition since Lim, a key figure in the February 2006 army standoff in Fort Bonifacio, had been allowed to go free and post bail by the courts after the May 2010 elections.

He said the Senate had passed a resolution asking judicial authorities to allow Trillanes to attend Senate sessions under heavy guard while he is undergoing court trial.

He said since the courts have refused to grant bail to Trillanes and to allow him to get out of jail on a day-to-day basis, the only recourse left is to facilitate his participation in Senate proceedings through teleconferencing and other modern means of communications.

This will allow Trillanes not only to take part in debates but also to vote on legislative measures, he said.

“It does sound unfair, if not unconstitutional, to have a duly-elected member of the Senate or any person for that matter subjected to detention for more than three years, having been restricted of his liberty and prevented from doing his duties as a legislator without any speedy relief in sight,” said Pimentel.

Pimentel said that in Japan, Canada, Netherlands, Pakistan and many other countries, legislators who are under detention for pending charges are granted permission by their respective legislatures or judicial bodies to attend sessions. (With a report from Hannah L. Torregoza)