MANILA, Philippines - A lawyer of detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday urged President-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to "do a Cory" and allow the detained senator to attend the regular sessions of the Senate.

Trillanes' lawyer, Rey Robles, urged Aquino to follow the example set by his mother, former President Cory Aquino, and free all political prisoners at the start of his term.

"During the time of Cory Aquino, all political prisoners were released and there was no problem with our institutions. This is a political offense and it is clear that Trillanes has not raped or murdered anybody," he said in an ABS-CBN "Umagang Kay Ganda" interview.

Trillanes, along with 300 junior officers and soldiers, took over the Oakwood Premier Ayala Center (now Ascott Makati) on July 27, 2003 and demanded that President Arroyo and other government leaders step down from office due to corruption. The group later surrendered to authorities less than 24 hours after taking over the apartment tower.

Trillanes has been in jail since 2003 but was still able to win a seat in the Senate during the 2007 election. He has not been allowed to participate in any of the Senate sessions because of security risks.

Robles said his client is not asking that his case be dropped and that he be freed.

"Trillanes just wants the mandate of the 11 million who voted for him to be respected. He just wants to participate in the sessions, and if they want to put him back in jail at the end of the day, he is OK with that. He has been fighting for his principles for the past 7 years and right now, he can probably stand to wait a bit more," he said.

'Teleconferencing' senator

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. earlier urged the incoming Senate to implement an already-approved resolution to allow Trillanes to participate in its proceedings through teleconferencing.
 
Pimentel expressed dismay that the coup d’etat charges against Trillanes in connection with the aborted 2003 Oakwood mutiny remain unresolved by the courts about three years after he was elected to the Senate. He also lamented that that a Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati and later the Supreme Court denied Trillanes’ petition to post bail to enable him to discharge his legislative duties.
 
“When Trillanes was voted by the people, he was already in detention. They were, in effect, telling the government, let him function as a senator,” the outgoing senator from Mindanao said.
 
Pimentel expressed the hope that after former Gen. Danilo Lim, a key figure in the February 2006 standoff, was released and allowed to post bail by an RTC after the May 10 elections, the courts would reconsider their unfavorable rulings on Trillanes’ petition for the grant of temporary liberty.

Robles said his client is asking the president-elect to allow him to participate in the Senate sessions either personally or through teleconferencing. He said there have been examples in other countries where a legislator is still allowed to continue his duties even while facing a court case.

He also urged Aquino to push for a review of the coup charge filed against Trillanes. He said that the definition of coup d'etat should be a swift attack or any form of violence against the governing authority. "During the Oakwood Mutiny, there were no gunbattles but a takeover. Also, it did not happen at a government facility or in the seat of power of the government," he said.

Judicial interference?

For his part, outgoing Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said the president-elect should be careful in handling the Trillanes case since it could be seen as the executive branch interfering with the duties of the judiciary,

"Our leaders should work on strengthening our institutions. We should be careful about one branch of government influencing another co-equal branch of government," he said.

He added: "If the DOJ can do something to change the reason for filing the case, it should do so but it should not be seen as the President influencing the courts of the land."