MANILA – Amnesties are theoretically voidable but the president cannot do it.
Only courts have the right to void an amnesty like the one granted to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, according to Father Ranhilio Aquino, dean of the San Beda College Graduate School of Law.
“That is not for the President to say (voiding of amnesty). Only the courts can properly say and do that,” Aquino told CNN Philippines on Wednesday.
Aquino is a member of the Consultative Committee that President Rodrigo Duterte formed to review the 1987 Constitution.
“The President, when an amnesty is granted, cannot unilaterally withdraw or revoke the amnesty,” he added.
Trillanes and fellow Magdalo soldiers involved in coup attempts during the Arroyo administration were granted amnesty in November 2010 by then President Benigno Aquino III via Proclamation 75.
But Duterte, in Proclamation 572 signed on Aug. 31, said Trillanes’ amnesty was void “ab initio (from the start)” because he did not comply with the “minimum requirements to qualify under the amnesty proclamation.”
The proclamation sparked debates on whether amnesty can be revoked and how. It may also have implications for people who previously received amnesty and those who will apply for it in the future.
“Normally you would say the President granted it, therefore it is for the President to determine whether or not the grant is valid or invalid,” Aquino said. “But if you would do that, you would be concentrating too much government power in an official.”
“American jurisprudence tells us once amnesty is granted, even if fraudulently obtained, it cannot be taken away without appropriate processes,” he added. “These are certainly judicial processes.”/PN
