The Supreme Court has denied Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s plea for a temporary restraining order on Proclamation 572 which directs his arrest but it also took notice of Duterte’s pronouncement that there will be no arrest until a warrant has been issued.
So why is Trillanes still in the Senate building in Pasay city?
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has assured Trillanes of protective custody inside the building based on “tradition,” unless he decides to surrender on his own.
Duterte, while in his Israel visit, said that he will wait for the courts to issue a warrant of arrest for Trillanes but he perceived this statement as a lie.
READ: Duterte not interested in arresting Trillanes
“Probably, they’re trying to trick me into that trap but I won’t fall for that,” Trillanes previously said.
“Through our contacts from the Armed Forces, there is still a standing order to arrest me so that’s another lie. So unless and until that order is relayed to the operating units, that has no bearing,” the senator added.
Trillanes previously welcomed the development from the Supreme Court and even hinted on leaving the Senate premises to return home.
“They (justices) knew that we presented a strong case and the proclamation is badly flawed, but nonetheless they give him a face saving way out, according to my lawyers,” Trillanes said.
READ: Court gives DOJ time to answer Trillanes pleading vs arrest
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque also criticized the senator’s continued camping in the Senate, saying that he is only staying there for “drama.”
Both the Makati City Regional Trial Court branches 150 and 148, which had charged him of coup cases back then, have also deferred issuing their warrants in recognition of Trillanes’ right to due process.
On September 13, Trillanes had formed his legal team for each case in the regional trial courts and for his petition to question his amnesty revocation at the High Court.