MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV does not see the hand of the former president and now House Speaker Gloria Arroyo in the revocation of his amnesty.

Asked if he thinks Arroyo is involved in the issue, Trillanes said in a Rappler Talk interview on Friday, September 14: “Based on our information, no. She has no part in all of this.”

Trillanes maintained that the so-called masterminds of the amnesty revocation are just President Rodrigo Duterte and Solicitor General Jose Calida.

“It’s just Duterte and Mr Calida. Everybody else who seem to be supporting these two are just being team players,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes was among the officers belonging to the Magdalo group that led the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege, which both unsuccessfully tried to depose then-president Arroyo over corruption allegations.

He was in jail for 7 years and won in the 2007 senatorial election while in detention. He was granted amnesty by former president Benigno Aquino III.

Arroyo, for her part, was tight-lipped on the issue, saying it is now up to the court to decide on the revocation of Trillanes’ amnesty. Arroyo is a staunch ally of Duterte.

“He has gone to court so let’s see what the court continues to have to say,” Arroyo said of the mutineer-turned-senator’s fate.

Trillanes has been a fierce critic of Duterte since the 2016 campaign and has since accused the President and his family of amassing wealth. The senator has also launched a probe into Calida’s questionable security contracts with government agencies.

The embattled senator also vowed to continue investigating Calida and exposing the President, even saying only death could stop him. – Rappler.com