SEVEN years ago on July 27, 2003, some 300 officers and enlisted men took over Oakwood Hotel in Makati City. They denounced corruption in the military service and called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down from office. The more prominent among the officers were Navy Lt. (now senator) Antonio Trillanes IV, Capt. Gerardo Gambala, Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, Capt. Gerry Alejano and Navy Lt. James Layug.

After some 20 hours of negotiations with a government-appointed panel headed by former AFP chief of staff and now special envoy to the Middle East, Gen. Roy Cimatu, it was agreed that the rebels would be allowed to return to barracks, giving up their arms at Fort Bonifacio, and surrender under the Articles of War.

The late Max Soliven, publisher of the Philippine Star, who was one of the negotiators wrote about the negotiations in his column of Monday, Aug. 4, 2003.

Soliven said: ?What bothers me is that the mutineers or rebels, whatever may be tagged on them, are being double-crossed. Nobody intends to glorify them as heroes, or justify their deeds, certainly not this writer. But since I was in there with the negotiating group, I?ll have to speak out about what was agreed. . .

?Being charged in civilian courts was rejected by the mutineers. They surrendered themselves to military justice under the Articles of War?in sum, court martial . . .

?Military justice is what they were unanimously pledged by the government panelists?not prosecution in the regular justice system. Otherwise, they might not have surrendered with the consequences of a firefight and detonation of explosives they had planted all over the place.

?Was anything written down? A surrender agreement? Of course, not. But we must consider that an individual?s word of honor is supposed to be as binding as a piece of paper. Palabra de honor was what was invoked at the end. Gen. Cimatu pledged himself as an officer and a gentleman and so did the rest of the government panel. . .

?Word of honor binds those who give them, not the accused or the imprisoned. Cimatu and the government officials involved should honor this deal.?

The agreement was never honored and ?palabra de honor? flew out the window. Senator Trillanes, who was elected while in detention by the votes of some 11 million Filipinos in 2007, was locked up at the Camp Crame Custodial Center, on trial in a civilian court. He was not allowed to post bail to attend Senate sessions or to enjoy limited liberties. In contrast, his other co-accused had been released under various conditions. His fellow conspirator Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, who accompanied him on the long march down Makati Avenue to the Peninsula Hotel, was allowed bail, while Senator Trillanes continue to languish in prison.

The Arroyo administration must have considered Trillanes such a dangerous enemy, subjecting him to extreme measures. Compare his treatment to that of former Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos in the famous Mega Pacific P1.3 billion poll automation scandal, and Joc-Joc Bolante of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

Last week, Trillanes was granted bail for the Peninsula Hotel takeover. He has already spent more time in prison than some people charged with more serious crimes. He probably has been one of the longest-serving prisoners of conscience in a Philippine jail.

Allowing him to attend the opening session of the new Congress on July 26 is a good first step in correcting injustice. With three more years to serve in his Senate position, he has much to contribute in terms of his idealism, his love of country and his desire to help improve the armed forces and the general welfare of the people. His record of Senate work even under detention speaks for itself. The votes of 11 million Filipinos should not be easily set aside. Whatever his actions may have been, he has paid for them with the heavy price of imprisonment?for seven years of his life.

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The Trillanes case is a pretty good example of the dispensation of justice under the Arroyo administration. The other face of a justice system that is harsh with foes but partial to friends is what I once described as the Larrañaga Express.

Remember ?Paco? Larrañaga, who along with six others, was convicted by the Cebu Regional Trial Court in 1999 of kidnapping two sisters, Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong? The girls were taken to a house and repeatedly raped by the gang. Marijoy was blind-folded and pushed off a cliff. Her broken body was found, but Jacqueline?s was never recovered. Four years later, the Supreme Court not only affirmed the conviction but also declared the men guilty of illegal detention with homicide and rape.

In May 2007 during one of President Arroyo?s visits to Spain, she signed a prisoner exchange treaty called the Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Spain. This particular treaty was ratified in six months? time and I dubbed the ratification process ?The Larrañaga Express,? courtesy of the Arroyo administration. For the benefit of their friends, this treaty was delivered on a silver platter, inspired primarily by concern for the greater comfort and welfare of a miserable Spanish rapist under the guise of reciprocity.

In October of last year, Larrañaga was placed on board KLM flight 804 bound for Amsterdam and headed presumably for Spain. Reports say he was not handcuffed and neither did he have leg irons. When Mark Jimenez was sent to the United States to stand trial, he was handcuffed to his seat all the way to a Florida jail. Larrañaga was treated like the average, everyday airline passenger.

So far, Larrañaga appears to be the one and only beneficiary of the treaty with Spain. There have been no Filipinos serving time in Spain who have been returned to the Philippines to continue serving their sentences here. In fact, no one knows just how many Filipino prisoners are serving time in Spanish jails.

No one knows, either, if Larrañaga who is serving the remainder of a 40-year sentence is still in a prison or under house arrest. Perhaps, the new administration should look into the matter.

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We join the many friends and admirers of Gen. Renato de Villa in wishing him all the best on his 75th birthday tomorrow. Rene de Villa has served his country well in various capacities. He left public service with his integrity and reputation intact without the slightest hint of scandal or wrongdoing.