Senator Antonio Trillanes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
SEN. ANTONIO Trillanes IV Monday brushed off libel charges against him filed by the family of Vice President Jejomar Binay, saying he would not be intimidated by “thieves.”
The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) has issued a warrant of arrest against Trillanes who allegedly had maligned Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., the Vice President’s son, in connection with the purported overpriced construction of the city’s parking building.
Judge Dina P. Teves of the Makati RTC Branch 142 issued the arrest order after finding probable cause in the complaint filed by prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to clerk of the court, Maricel Cairo.
Cairo said copies of the order were sent to the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation on Friday to be served on Trillanes.
Trillanes, who is abroad attending a conference, sent a text message to the Inquirer saying he was unfazed by the libel suit. “I will not allow thieves to head the country,” he said, adding his lawyer was studying “appropriate action” on the case.
Reynaldo Robles, the senator’s lawyer, said his client was “ready to face any consequence, including facing malicious cases and possible imprisonment, just to let the people know the truth regarding the massive corruption in Makati.”
In a statement, Claro Certeza, Binay’s lawyer, said Trillanes’ indictment was “a clear vindication of what Vice President Jejomar Binay has been saying all along—that the accusations made against him and members of his family are lies and politically motivated.”
In April last year, the younger Binay filed the libel complaint against Trillanes for “publicly and maliciously” accusing him of bribery, graft, corruption and plunder during media interviews and in articles published in newspapers on the alleged overpriced construction of the Makati City Hall Building II.
After the Court of Appeals granted a writ of preliminary injunction on Binay’s suspension ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman, Trillanes claimed that Binay bribed two justices of the Court of Appeals Sixth Division with P50 million in exchange for the favorable ruling.
A second suspension order issued by the Ombudsman, this time on alleged irregularities in the construction of the Makati Science High School building forced Binay to step down.
The mayor slammed Trillanes’ statements about his family being part of a “syndicate that has committed various crimes and irregularities.”
‘False and baseless’
“These are false, baseless and without factual basis as admitted by Trillanes himself,” he added, noting that during media interviews the senator appeared “evasive” when asked about his source.
“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,” Binay said.
The Office of the Makati City Prosecutor inhibited itself from hearing the libel complaint and passed it to the DOJ after Trillanes requested the transfer of the case.
“But even with the transfer of the case to the DOJ, whom Senator Trillanes stated would give him an unbiased determination of his case, the finding was that his bribery charges have no basis and hence, the finding of probable cause to charge and arrest him for the crime of libel,” Certeza added.
He also claimed that Trillanes was resorting to “trial by publicity” to destroy the reputation of the Vice President, who is seeking the presidency in the May elections.
“They have not produced any evidence that is legally acceptable to substantiate their charges,” Certeza added.
He claimed that once the warrant was served on Trillanes, he could post a P10,000 bail.