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Manila: An opposition senator and 16 military men told a lower court they "exercised freedom of speech" and did not indulge in "acts of rebellion" when they walked out of the court during trial on November 29 for a failed 2003 coup.
They later briefly took over a five-star hotel in Makati City, a financial district.
In a motion for reconsideration filed at the regional trial court of Makati, Senator Antonio Trillanes and 16 others appealed for the dismissal of the rebellion charges against them, lawyer Ernesto Francisco said.
On December 13, the Makati court found probable cause for issuing a commitment order against Trillanes and company.
"When the soldiers walked out of a Makati court, which was hearing their case, they marched to the Peninsula Hotel to air their grievances against the administration. It was a legitimate exercise of the people's freedom of speech," explained the lawyer.
The rebellion charges against Trillanes and company were "absurd and hilarious", said the lawyer, adding that "a rebellion would be akin to a civil war with an armed public uprising of a substantial number of rebels".
The lawyer admitted the soldiers owned the firearms seized from the hotel rest rooms.
"But not a single gunshot was fired by Trillanes, Brigadier General Danilo Lim, and the other military and former military men," said the lawyer.
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