Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has prevailed in the Court of Appeals after it reversed the decision of a trial court to reopen his rebellion trial on the basis of a voided amnesty.
The appellate court set aside the order of the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 to reopen Trillanes' rebellion case, saying it no longer had jurisdiction on the dismissed case.
"It acted with grave abuse of discretion that amounted to excess of jurisdiction, thus ousting it of jurisdiction, when it shunned testimonial evidence," the appellate court said in its ruling.
Trillanes hailed the development, saying the "rule of law prevailed."
"Sana all na judges and justices ay may ganitong sense of justice to check the prevailing authoritarianism in the country," he said in a text message to reportr.
The dismissal of Trillanes rebellion case was put into question after President Rodrigo Duterte declared void his amnesty granted by former President Benigno Aquino III.
In 2018, the Makati court granted the Department of Justice’s plea for an arrest warrant against then-senator Trillanes, effectively reviving the rebellion case which stems from his participation in the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.
