Trillanes sues Roque and other ‘Pro-Duterte’ Personalities

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV sues Harry Roque and other “pro-Duterte” social media users. He filed cases of libel and cyber libel cases on Tuesday, May 14.  

Trillanes filed individual charges against Roque. Also, he filed cases against Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), Guillermina Barrido, and vlogger Byron Cristobal.

The cases filed against Roque and Cristobal were for their past claims on Trillanes. In the 2012 backchannel talks, they accused Trillanes of selling the Scarborough shoal to China.

“Dito makikita na kung ano ‘yong binibintang nila sa akin na ito ‘yong basis nung aking libel and cyber libel charges ay ‘yon pala sila ang gumagawa. Sila ‘yong nagkompromiso sa interes ng ating bansa diyan sa West Philippine Sea,” Trillanes said.

“Despite my repeated explanations on what transpired during my backchannel talks, including official statements from incumbent government officials during Senate hearings conducted that we did not lose Scarborough. These pro-Duterte personalities continue to harp on this fake news to deflect blame from the Duterte administration,” Trillanes said.

Roque then opposed Trillanes’s claims.

“He [Trillanes] says he was defamed when his role as a backdoor negotiator with China resulted in our loss of Scarborough. But this is history,” he said.

“He was designated negotiator by then President Aquino. He undertook many clandestine trips and talks with Chinese authorities, and lo and behold, we lost our physical possession of Scarborough,” he added.

Trillanes filed a separate complaint against Barrido and SMNI hosts and executives. This was after Barrido claimed that Trillanes paid her to be a fake witness against Duterte.

He also filed a different case against six different social media users.

“Ito ang ating push back sa pag disseminate ng false information at mga fake news laban sa akin. Ngayon nakita natin na panahon na ito ay makakakuha na tayo hustisya hindi natin ito is naasahan nung panahon ni Duterte kaya ngayon natin naisipan i-file ito,” Trillanes said.