Mayor Binay files libel case against Trillanes

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay on Monday filed a libel case against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV amid the latter’s bribery accusations.

READ: Binay camp slams Trillanes for ‘slash-and-burn tactic’

The libel complaint, which accuses Trillanes of giving defamatory statements and of violating Article 355 in relation to Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code, was filed before the Office of the Makati City Prosecutor, the Binay camp said.

Trillanes earlier claimed that Binay, who was ordered suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman over the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall parking building, bribed members of the Court of Appeals to issue a temporary restraining order.

READ: Mayor Junjun Binay ordered suspended for six months | CA issues TRO on Junjun Binay suspension

“The damaging and ruinous claims spewed out by respondent Trillanes are mere concoctions and fabrications with no other purpose than to malign, discredit, ruin my reputation and besmirch my good name as well as that of my family,” the mayor said.

In the said statement, Binay camp pointed out that “Trillanes himself had admitted during the interview (aired by radio and television networks on April 7) that he had no valid proof or factual basis for his pronouncements.”

It also cited the Philippine Daily Inquirer article “Trillanes: I will expose Binay paid for TRO,” which quoted the senator saying that he received information that the Binay family paid “big money” to secure the injunction.

On Monday, Trillanes said his sources told him that Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta, two of the three justices of the CA Sixth Division, each received P25 million from Binay.

READ: Trillanes: 2 CA justices got P50M for Binay TRO

Trillanes refused to name his sources.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Binay said, “No bona fide efforts having been made to ascertain the truth of such statements before they were written and published in reckless disregard of the truth, the presumption of malice applies as these article(s) are not privileged communication.”

He said the senator’s statements “were clearly made with no good intention or justifiable motive.”