In a letter dated 21 March 2011, Senator Antonio Trillanes of the Philippines wrote to the IPU to express thanks to the Committee on the Human Rights of parliamentarians and its staff.

Trillanes recounts how in 2003, as an officer in the Philippines armed forces, he joined other soldiers to publicly denounce corruption and graft in the armed forces and the Arroyo government. The soldiers were hastily tried and then incarcerated. Four years later, Trillanes campaigned in the national elections from inside his cell in Fort Bonifacio, and was elected to the Senate by more than 11 million voters. Despite his new mandate, the government barred him from attending the Senate sessions. His case was brought to the attention of the IPU by two Senate colleagues, and his lawyer was allowed to present the case to the IPU Committee.

The letter continues:

"From that time on, the Committee through its Governing Board, issued no less than four (4) decisions at various times urging the Philippine authorities to expedite the trial of my case, respect my rights as provided under Philippine laws and jurisprudence as well as the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and to respect my mandate as an elected parliamentarian by allowing me to either post bail and/or to attend sessions of the Philippine Senate. On the basis of the decisions of the Committee, the Governing Body of the IPU during its 185th session likewise issued a unanimous resolution of similar import in October 2009.

After the change in leadership in the Philippines in June 2010 with the assumption of Office of his Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III, a majority of the members of both the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives passed separate but simultaneous resolutions urging the President to grant amnesty to our group and other soldiers who fought the administration of Mrs. Arroyo, citing in part the resolutions and decision issued by the IPU in my case. […] Thus on December 21, 2010, I was provisionally released after more than seven years and five months of detention. This January 2011, I applied for and was granted amnesty under Proclamation No. 75 of the President.

I have recounted the details of my case to emphasize the vital role the IPU and particularly our Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, played in securing my eventual release and in allowing me to perform my duties as an elected Senator of the Philippines.

I am here before you today due in large part to the dedicated work and persistence of the officers, staff and committees of the IPU. Hence, I take this opportunity to personally express my sincere and heartfelt gratitude for the work you have done in my case and in the case of other parliamentarians who are similarly circumstanced. To all of you, I will be eternally grateful."

Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV