A Philippine opposition senator who is a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested in a move which has been condemned as persecution of the government's opponents.

Senator Antonio Trillanes was arrested on charges of rebellion outside of the Senate building in the Philippine capital Manila hours after a warrant for his capture was issued by a court.

The arrest followed a revocation by Duterte last month of a 2010 amnesty granted to Trillanes for his role in two coup attempts in the mid-2000s.

The senator has been fiercely critical of Duterte's drug war which has killed thousands of people and has accused Duterte of hiding wealth.

He backed a probe into Duterte by the International Criminal Court.

"Democracy died today," Philippine news site Rappler quoted Trillanes as saying shortly before his arrest.

"This case goes beyond me ... This is clearly Mr Duterte silencing his political critics, those who tell the truth."

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte would respect the decision of the judiciary.

"The court has spoken," he said in a statement. "Let us stop the drama by press conference and allow the legal process to take its course."

Trillanes is the second senator arrested after voicing criticism of Duterte's drug war. Leila de Lima has been behind bars since February 2017 on charges she says were concocted in order to silence her.

"This arrest ... is part of the persecution of critics of the Duterte administration, the latest in the relentless campaign to silence those who dared to challenge the president's murderous 'drug war'," Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch Philippines told AFP news agency.

Trillanes posted bail of 200,000 pesos ($3,770).</s>A Philippine court ordered President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critic in Congress arrested Tuesday after the president revoked the senator’s 2011 amnesty for a failed coup attempt and revived rebellion charges against him in an unprecedented legal move the legislator called a blow to democracy.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV walked out of the Senate, where he has sought refuge for weeks, and was taken by police to their headquarters in Makati city, where his fingerprints and mugshot were taken. After being booked by police, Trillanes said he would go to a nearby court to post bail.

“Definitely our fight will continue,” Trillanes told DZMM radio at the police headquarters, where he was accompanied by his lawyers and a few allied senators.

“We will not be cowed by these obstacles in fighting for the truth, justice and democracy,” he said.

Duterte has been highly sensitive to criticism, especially over his anti-drug crackdown that has left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead since he took office in mid-2016. Trillanes has also accused the president of large-scale corruption and involvement in illegal drugs, which Duterte has denied.

Duterte said he voided Trillanes’ amnesty last month because the senator had failed to file a formal amnesty request and acknowledge guilt for involvement in at least three failed coup attempts several years ago. Trillanes has strongly denied the president’s claims and has provided news reports and defense department documents to counter Duterte’s claims.

The Department of Justice has asked two courts to issue warrants for Trillanes’s arrest and resume criminal proceedings against him. One of the courts issued the arrest warrant against the senator on Tuesday.

Aside from the rebellion and coup-related charges in the two courts, Duterte has also ordered the military to resume an inquiry into the senator’s role in the mutinies.

Legal experts and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the largest lawyers’ group in the country, have expressed alarm over the legal moves against Trillanes for offenses that were canceled by a 2011 amnesty approved by Duterte’s predecessor and Congress.

The lawyers’ group said the move against Trillanes “runs roughshod over the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy,” or holding a person to answer twice for the same offense.

Duterte has also accused Trillanes, without offering evidence, of plotting with other opposition politicians, including the Liberal Party and leftist groups, to oust him. Trillanes and opposition groups have dismissed the claim as a lie and asked him to focus instead on addressing poverty, inflation, rice shortages, traffic jams and a decline in the value of the peso currency.</s>Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is the second opposition senator to be arrested under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday, September 25, became the second opposition senator to be arrested under the Duterte presidency.

A team led by Makati police chief Superintendent Rogelio Simon confirmed that the police served the arrest warrant on Trillanes for the charge of rebellion, hours after the document was released by Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Executive Judge Elmo Alameda.

Senate Sergant-at-Arms Jose Balajadia told reporters that the police followed the process. He said that Metro Manila police director Guillermo Eleazar served the warrant,

Trillanes was brought to the Makati City Central Police Station for booking procedures.

The rebellion charge against Trillanes was revived after President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 572, revoking the amnesty granted to the senator in connection to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

Trillanes was initially expected to be brought to the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame in Quezon City where, according to PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde, "vacant rooms" awaited the senator.

The court set bail at P200,000 but if Trillanes failed to post bail, he would spend the night in detention.

Another opposition senator, Leila de Lima, also Duterte's fierce critic, has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017, for drug charges.</s>President Rodrigo Duterte’s fiercest critic in Congress was arrested Tuesday after the president revoked his 2011 amnesty for a failed coup attempt and revived rebellion charges against him in an unprecedented legal move the senator called a blow to democracy.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV walked out of the Senate, where he had taken refuge for weeks, and was moved by police to their headquarters in Makati city, where his fingerprints and mugshot were taken. After being booked by police, Trillanes was escorted to a nearby court and posted bail, trailed by many journalists.

“Democracy lost today,” Trillanes told reporters shortly before his arrest. “Darkness and evil prevailed in our country. Whatever happens in the future will be in the hands of the Filipino people.”

Known for outbursts against his critics, Duterte has long expressed anger against Trillanes, who has accused him of large-scale corruption, involvement in illegal drugs and extrajudicial killings in an anti-drug crackdown that has left thousands of suspects dead since he took office in 2016. Duterte has denied the allegations.

Trillanes, a former navy officer, was jailed for more than seven years for involvement in at least three army uprisings, including a 2003 mutiny against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when he and other young officers rigged part of a road in the Makati financial district with bombs and took over an upscale residential building.

After being amnestied under Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, Trillanes successfully petitioned two Philippine courts to dismiss rebellion and coup cases, allowing him to later run for public office.

Duterte said he voided Trillanes’ amnesty last month because the senator had failed to file a formal amnesty request and acknowledge guilt. Trillanes has strongly denied the president’s claims and has provided news reports and defense department documents to counter Duterte’s claims.

The Department of Justice has asked two courts to issue warrants for Trillanes’s arrest and resume criminal proceedings against him. One of the courts issued the arrest warrant on Tuesday.

Aside from the rebellion and coup-related charges in the two courts, Duterte has also ordered the military to resume an inquiry into the senator’s role in the mutinies.

Legal experts and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the country’s largest lawyers’ group, have expressed alarm over the legal moves against Trillanes for offenses that were canceled by the 2011 amnesty.

The lawyers’ group said the move “runs roughshod over the constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy,” or holding a person to answer twice for the same offense.

Duterte has also accused Trillanes, without offering evidence, of plotting with other opposition politicians, including the Liberal Party and leftist groups, to oust him. Trillanes and opposition groups have dismissed the claim as a lie and asked Duterte to focus instead on addressing poverty, inflation, rice shortages, traffic jams and a decline in the value of the peso currency.

Human Rights Watch said Trillanes’s arrest “is part of the persecution of critics of the Duterte administration, the latest in the relentless campaign to silence those who dared to challenge the president’s murderous ‘drug war.’ “

Under Duterte, another opposition senator has been jailed on illegal drug charges, a critical Supreme Court chief justice has been ousted by fellow judges, and foreign critics, including an Australian nun, have been barred from entering the Philippines or threatened with deportation.</s>A Philippine lawmaker fiercely critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war was arrested Tuesday on previously dismissed charges, a move condemned by watchdogs as persecution of the government's opponents.

Senator Antonio Trillanes was taken into custody and then posted bail shortly after a court-issued warrant forced him from the Senate building, where he has holed up for weeks to avoid arrest.

Trillanes is the second senator critical of Duterte's drug war to be detained. Leila de Lima has been behind bars since February 2017 on charges she says were concocted to silence her.

The order for Trillanes' arrest stems from Duterte voiding earlier this month an amnesty granted eight years ago to the senator, an ex-navy officer, for his role in two coup attempts in the mid-2000s.

"They twisted the law so our democracy and institutions failed," Trillanes told reporters. "This (case) has nothing to do with anything except for the vengeance of Duterte and his underlings."

Duterte issued a decree earlier this month ordering Trillanes' arrest on allegations he did not complete the requirements of filing an official application for amnesty and admitting guilt.

The case has prompted concern in the Philippines where critics have questioned whether presidents have the power to undo amnesties, a repeatedly used tool in a nation plagued by insurgencies and military rebellion.

"The arrest... is part of the persecution of critics of the Duterte administration, the latest in the relentless campaign to silence those who dared to challenge the president's murderous 'drug war'," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch Philippines.

Bigger legal trouble could still await Trillanes because he could be arrested on another charge, stemming from a separate coup attempt, that does not have the possibility of bail.

The Philippines' creaking legal system is notoriously slow and defendants can remain behind bars for years before they get their day in court.

Along with De Lima, Trillanes is Duterte's loudest critic telling AFP last year: "This man is a sociopath and he has the mindset of a hitman."

Trillanes last year appealed to the International Criminal Court to investigate killings in Duterte's war on drugs and had repeatedly accused the president of being a mass murderer and holding secret bank accounts.

Last year Trillanes also had the president's eldest son Paolo brought before a Senate inquiry to face allegations he was involved in drug trafficking, which the younger Duterte denied.

Trillanes had faced rebellion and coup d'etat charges for being among military officers who rose up against then president Gloria Arroyo over alleged corruption and mismanagement.

He led scores of junior officers in taking over part of a main district of Manila in 2003 and seized a posh Manila hotel in 2007 along with several armed followers as they demanded Arroyo's resignation.</s>A senator who has been a leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly anti-drug campaign turned himself in to authorities voluntarily on Tuesday, after a court ordered his arrest following a presidential revocation of an amnesty for his past role in military mutinies.

Judge Elmo Alameda of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 granted the Justice Department’s petition for an arrest warrant and hold order against Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a former Navy lieutenant who helped lead two military rebellions against the government in 2003 and 2007.

Wearing a coat and tie, Trillanes was taken in custody from the Senate and subjected to a booking process like a common criminal. He was accompanied by fellow opposition senators, who charged that Duterte was engaged in a crusade to persecute his political opponents.

“So, officially, we don’t have democracy anymore. This case goes beyond me. You can see here that I don’t have any crimes committed because I was given amnesty seven years ago,” Trillanes told reporters before he went to the police office, where he posted 200,000 pesos (U.S. $3,679) in bail.

“This is a clear harassment against his critics in politics telling the truth that he cannot face,” the senator added, referring to President Duterte.

Trillanes was arrested after taking refuge at his office in the Senate building since early this month.

The court said Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572 was factual. This proclamation declared Trillanes’ amnesty void from the beginning because of his alleged failure to comply with requirements, a fact contested by the senator.

Duterte revoked the amnesty granted to Trillanes, allegedly because the senator did not comply with requirements set out by the law. He directed the Justice Department and military to proceed with court martial proceedings against the lawmaker.

Duterte’s chief legal counsel, Sal Panelo, urged the former navy officer-turned politician to “stop milking the issue and acting pathetically as if he is a victim of injustice.”

A colleague of Trillanes, Rep. Gary Alejano, slammed the court’s order, calling the senator a victim of political persecution.

“This administration will do everything to silence Trillanes,” Alejano told reporters.

Trillanes in 2003 helped lead a rebellion against then-President Gloria Arroyo. The mutineering officers took over the Oakwood Hotel in the Makati financial district, but their rebellion was quickly put down.

In 2007, while being tried for their roles in the earlier mutiny, Trillanes and the other officers walked out of a court hearing into their case and occupied another hotel in the Philippine capital. They called for Arroyo’s removal, but the uprising ended abruptly when the armed forces drove an armored personnel carrier into the hotel lobby.

Thousands of suspected drug users have been killed since Duterte took power two years ago, according to rights advocates.</s>The arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV sends a chilling effect among other critics of the Duterte administration, says Human Rights Watch

MANILA, Philippines – Groups condemned the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, calling it a blatant political attack of President Rodrigo Duterte against the political opposition.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday, September 25, said that the arrest is just part of persecution of people deemed critics of the government.

“It’s the latest in the relentless campaign to silence those who dared to challenge the president’s murderous drug war,” Carlos Conde of HRW’s Asia Division said.

“Trillanes's arrest today sends a chilling effect among other critics of the Duterte administration,” Conde added.

On Tuesday, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV became the second opposition senator arrested after Senator Leila de Lima. Both are fierce critics of Duterte.

His arrest stemmed from Duterte's Proclamation No. 572 which revoked the amnesty granted to him in connection to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. (TIMELINE: Trillanes, from mutiny to amnesty)

Groups see Trillanes' arrest as part of Duterte's crackdown on vocal critics.

US-based non-governmental organization StoptheDrugWar.org condemned the arrest of Trillanes who they call as “one of the handful of leaders willing to aggressively confront the crisis” in the Philippines.

“The Philippine court system failed a crucial test today and human rights may be the gravest casualty,” the group said.

While Trillanes has told them that political prosecutions are expected, the StoptheDrugWar.org executive director David Borden said they are “saddened that he is personally a victim.”

"It has already further mobilized the already energized Philippine opposition to Duterte, and it will also focus even greater world attention onto Duterte's crimes and depredations,” he said.

"Whether he remains free to speak and campaign, or instead join Senator De Lima as a symbol behind bars, we will continue to support his efforts," Borden added.

The Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 on Tuesday granted the request of the Department of Justice to issue an arrest warrant against Trillanes for the charge of rebellion, a bailable offense. He was arrested at the Senate, but was released later after posting bail at the court.

The DOJ has also asked Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 148 to issue an arrest warrant against the senator, this time for a coup d'etat case, which is nonbailable. The court had yet to decide on the DOJ motion. – Rappler.com</s>Senator Antonio Trillanes IV became the second lawmaker in less that two years to be arrested in the Philippines Tuesday in what human rights groups say is a “relentless campaign” to silence the critics of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Trillanes handed himself over to authorities shortly after a regional trial court issued a warrant for his arrest, the Philippine reports. He had been holed up in the Senate building for three weeks following a presidential proclamation ordering the immediate revocation of amnesty granted under a previous administration.

While some 40 police and soldiers arrived at the Senate the morning the proclamation was made public, authorities declined to detain Trillanes without a court ordered warrant.

Read more: The Senate Standoff: How Duterte’s Attempt to Arrest Another Critic Is Testing Philippine Democracy

Trillanes had long provoked Duterte’s ire, condemning his drug war — which human rights groups say is responsible for at least 12,000 deaths — accusing him, his son, and members of his administration of corruption, and supporting the International Criminal Court’s preliminary examination into alleged extrajudicial killings.

His arrest is “the latest in the relentless campaign to silence those who dared to challenge the president’s murderous ‘drug war,'” Carlos Conde, a researcher at Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, said in a statement. Trillanes’ detention could have a “chilling affect” on other critics, Conde wrote.

It follows the jailing of fellow critic, Sen. Leila de Lima in February 2017, threats to impeach Vice President Leni Robredo after she criticized Duterte’s drug war, threats to arrest the Ombudsman after she launched an investigation into Duterte’s family finances, and the ouster of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno from the Supreme Court.

For de Lima, the persecution of Trillanes feels familiar. “Trillanes is a threat as I am a threat, as free speech and democracy are a threat to Duterte,” she wrote TIME from her cell days after the president revoked his amnesty.

Police arrested de Lima on drug-related charges more than 18 months ago, following an investigation she launched into alleged extrajudicial killings during the drug war. “As president, [Duterte] cannot outrightly murder political opponents without creating a national crisis,” De Lima added, so instead he resorts to “jailing us as common criminals.”</s>'Kung maililigpit mo man ako, meron at merong papalit sa akin, at sa dakong huli ikaw rin ay matatalo at haharapin mo yung mga kasalanang ginawa mo,' says opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV

MANILA, Philippines – Even in a tension-filled moment, opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV found a way to mock President Rodrigo Duterte.

While posting a P200,000 bail at the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 on Tuesday, September 25, Trillanes was asked for his message to Duterte.

“Sana pinapanood niya 'yung proseso kasi balang araw pagdadaanan din niya 'yan,” a smiling Trillanes told reporters while waiting for the processing of his bail. (I hope he is watching the process because someday, he will go through this.)

Duterte issued Proclamation 572,ordering the revocation of his amnesty. This order prompted the Department of Justice to go to the Makati court to seek a hold departure order and an arrest warrant against Trillanes over rebellion charges in 2007.

Trillanes was presiding a hearing of the Senate social justice committee when news of his arrest broke. At the hearing, he said, “Finally, bago ako arestuhin (before I get arrested)...”

In a press conference upon his arrival at the Senate, after he had posted bail, Trillanes addressed Duterte and said the President could not escape his sins.

“Kay Mr Duterte, baluktutin mo na ang kailangan mong baluktitin, isagasa mo na ang dapat isagasa, pero 'yung kasamaan na 'pinaghahari mo dito sa ating bayan ay di 'yan mananaig,” Trillanes said. (To Mr Duterte, you can bend the rules all you want, you can ram through whatever you want, but your reign of evil in the country will not prevail.)

“Kung maililigpit mo man ako, meron at merong papalit sa akin, at sa dakong huli ikaw rin ay matatalo at haharapin mo 'yung mga kasalanang ginawa mo,” he added. (If you succeed in getting rid of me, there will always be someone to replace me, and in the end, you will lose and you will account for your sins.)

Makati TC Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda issued an arrest warrant against the senator for failing to present a copy of his amnesty application.

This was after Trillanes submitted on Monday sworn affidavits of the chairman and the head of the secretariat of the amnesty panel that backed his amnesty. The documents state that the senator applied for amnesty in 2011, pursuant to Proclamation 75 of then-president Benigno Aquino III. – Rappler.com</s>This case 'goes beyond me,' says the second senator to be arrested under the Duterte administration

MANILA, Philippines – Democracy is dead, said opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV shortly after a Makati court issued an arrest warrant against him for charges covered by an amnesty granted to him in 2001.

“Namatay ho ang demokrasya ngayong araw na ito (Democracy died today),” Trillanes told reporters on Tuesday, September 25, minutes before the Makati police served him his arrest warrant at the Senate.

Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Executive Judge Elmo Alameda released the warrant 3 weeks after President Rodrigo Duterte revoked the amnesty given Trillanes and his fellow ex-soldiers who mounted two failed mutinies against the Arroyo administration in 2003 and 2007.

The staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte said the warrant clearly shows that the government is out to silence its critics.

“Officially, wala na po tayong demokrasya. This case goes beyond me. Dito nakikita, wala po akong krimen na ginagawa… Ito ay maliwanag na panggigipit ni Mr Duterte sa kanyang mga kritiko sa politika, ‘yong mga nagsasabi ng totoo,” said Trillanes.

The senator did not resist arrest. (LOOK: Trillanes smiles for mug shots)

Trillanes was brought to the Makati City Central Police Station for the booking procedure. He intended to post bail, which the Makati court set at P200,000, on Tuesday afternoon.

The rebellion charge against Trillanes was revived after Duterte issued Proclamation No. 572, revoking the amnesty granted to the senator for leading the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. (READ: INSIDE STORY: How Duterte handled Trillanes fiasco from Israel, Jordan)

Over the past few days, Trillanes’ legal team has been producing evidence to show that the amnesty granted to him in 2011 was valid and legal. But it seemed not sufficient.

Trillanes is the second opposition senator to be jailed under the Duterte administration.

Senator Leila de Lima, also a fierce Duterte critic, has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 for multiple drug charges

Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano said the country is now in a dictatorship.

“Sa paglabas ng warrant of arrest laban kay Sen. Trillanes, natanggal na ang pagkukunwari ng administrasyong Duterte na tayo ay nasa demokrasya pa. Tayo po ay na sa isa ng diktadurya ngayon,” said Alejano minutes after Trillanes’ arrest.

Alejano was among the soldiers who joined Trillanes during the mutinies in 2003 and 2007 to protest alleged corruption in the administration of then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Former president Benigno Aquino III granted them a general amnesty in November 2010, but their entire application process was done only in January 2011.

On August 31, Duterte signed a proclamation declaring Trillanes' amnesty void. Two reasons were cited for this: because of the supposed absence of his application form and his alleged failure to admit to guilt. The senator's camp showed evidence to debunk the President's claim.

Alejano said Trillanes’ arrest is an “assault to the whole Philippine justice system.”

He added that if Duterte can do this to Trillanes, it means the President is capable of doing the same thing to anyone else who would oppose him.

“Kung mga mambabatas nga ay kayang-kayang gipitin, mas lalo na ang mga ordinaryong Pilipino na naghahanap ng hustisya sa mga pang-aabuso ng administrasyong Duterte (If even a lawmaker can be oppressed, then all the more the ordinary Filipinos who are seeking justice for all the abuses of the Duterte administration),” said Alejano. – Rappler.com
Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, is arrested on charges of rebellion. Trillanes says that Duterte is "silencing his political critics, those who tell the truth."