Malacañang rapped on Noy’s amnesty grant, but Senate approves it anyway

Malacañang rapped on Noy’s amnesty grant, but Senate approves it anyway



12/08/2010

Malacañang got the nod of the Senate on President Aquino’s grant of amnesty to more than 300 rebels, yesterday, but not without a tongue-lashing from some senators who took note of some legal and other technical issues that put to question the validity of Proclamation No. 75.

Concurrence with the amnesty proclamation, seen to pave the way for the release from the three-year detention of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, saw one of the original sponsors registering an “abstention” after having been named Monday by the Aquino administration as an alleged co-conspirator of the mutineers of the previous government.

Only 14 of the 17 sponsors, in the previous resolution in the Senate asking Malacañang to grant amnesty to rebel soldiers, concurred with Proclamation 75, while Sen. Joker Arroyo was the lone dissenter.

In a surprise move, Sen. Gregorio Honasan cast an abstention vote citing as reason the possible “conflict of interest” saying that he could eventually end up being a “beneficiary” of the amnesty..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101208hed3.html