Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Monday said he believes that former defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin may be held liable for “usurpation of authority” when he recommended and approved the amnesty granted to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “It’s the President that should grant amnesty, it’s for them (Department of National Defense) only to evaluate… He’s (Gazmin) responded by saying ‘approved,’ I’ve granted the amnesty per his letter to the (former) President (Benigno Aquino III),” Panelo said in an interview over CNN Philippines. Asked if a case should be filed against Gazmin, Panelo said: “I think so, but it’s the Solgen’s (Solicitor General) call.”ADVERTISEMENTIt was President Rodrigo Duterte who first revealed Gazmin’s alleged liability in the senator’s amnesty issue. READ: Duterte blames Gazmin for flaws in Trillanes’ amnesty papersThe President explained that the power to grant amnesty is a presidential prerogative and “cannot be delegated to anybody else.”In a proclamation last August 31, Duterte ordered the revocation of Trillanes’ amnesty for failing to meet the necessary requirements. The proclamation stated that Trillanes “never expressed his guilt for the crimes that were committed on the occasion of the Oakwood Mutiny and the Manila Peninsula Siege.” /jeADVERTISEMENTREAD: Duterte revokes Trillanes amnesty, orders his arrest

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 10, 2018 03:00 UTC