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AFP can't arrest 'civilian' Trillanes: lawyer

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<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1425171" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>MANILA - The Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot apprehend Sen. Antonio Trillanes because he has been a civilian since he was elected into public office, his lawyer said Friday.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/04/18/trillanes-amnesty-revoked-senator-faces-charges-arrest">Trillanes amnesty voided; senator faces charges, arrest</a></li></ul><p>The military also would not follow an &quot;illegal&quot; order from President Rodrigo Duterte to arrest Trillanes, lawyer Reynaldo Robles said.</p><p>&quot;Walang president ang naglabas ng warrant nung panahon nila at hindi ka rin puwedeng mag-utos sa provost marshal na mang-aresto ng sibilyan. Hindi naman ho tayo nasa martial law dito sa Maynila,&quot; he told DZMM&#x27;s Kabayan.</p><p>(No president has issued a warrant while in power and the provost marshal cannot also order the arrest of a civilian. Manila is not under martial law.)</p><p>&quot;Wala hong basehan &#x27;yang magiging order na &#x27;yan. Ang lumalabas na dahilan, dahil kritiko lang ng administrasyon. Hindi naman talaga tama &#x27;yan,&quot; he said.</p><p>(That order would be baseless. The reason, it would seem, is that he is a critic of the administration. That is not correct.)</p><p>Robles said Trillanes sought honorable dismissal from service when he won a Senate seat in 2007, and the AFP granted this through Order 515 series of 2007 as signed by then Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon.</p><p>As a Navy lieutenant, Trillanes and his Magdalo band of soldiers and junior officers occupied the Oakwood Hotel in 2003 and the Manila Peninsula Hotel in 2007 to protest alleged corruption under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.</p><p>Arroyo&#x27;s successor, Benigno Aquino III, granted amnesty to Trillanes and several other military rebels in 2011.</p><p>Duterte&#x27;s order invalidated this amnesty because the lawmaker supposedly failed to submit an official application form and apologize for the crimes he committed.</p><p>Trillanes&#x27; camp insisted that he had complied with all the requirements, which allowed the executive and legislative to grant him amnesty.</p><p>On Thursday, his lawyers asked the Supreme Court to declare Duterte&#x27;s order as unconstitutional.</p><p>His case would be different from former Colonel Rolando Abadilla of the Philippine Constabulary, whose arrest and detention in connection with a court martial proceeding was upheld by the high tribunal, said Robles.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/09/06/18/read-sc-ruling-affirming-detention-of-ex-soldier-with-pending-court-martial-proceedings">READ: SC ruling affirming detention of ex-soldier with pending court martial proceedings</a></li></ul><p>&quot;Hindi po siya (Abadilla) dinischarge saka may kaso sa kaniya. Ito, wala siyang kaso kaya nga walang makuhang warrant,&quot; he said.</p><p>(Abadilla was not discharged and there was a pending case against him. Here, there are no cases against Trillanes that&#x27;s why there are no arrest warrants.)</p><p>Sen. Francis Pangilinan said there have been reports that &quot;there may be an attempt to illegally arrest&quot; Trillanes late Friday or over the weekend when the courts are closed.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/07/18/trillanes-arrest-will-be-military-gift-to-duterte">Trillanes: Arrest will be military &#x27;gift&#x27; to Duterte</a></li></ul>

<p>MANILA - The Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot arrest Sen. Antonio Trillanes because he has been a civilian since he was elected into public office, his lawyer said Friday.</p>

MANILA - The Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot arrest Sen. Antonio Trillanes because he has been a civilian since he was elected into public office, his lawyer said Friday.