Former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV has filed several libel and cyber libel cases before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office against pro-Duterte personalities and social media account holders, including former Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque; the media network Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI); and Vlogger Byron Cristobal, also known as Banat By.
The decision to pursue legal recourse comes after persistent online attacks and the dissemination of false accusations of the said personalities and media entity against Trillanes.
In separate complaint affidavits, Trillanes charged Roque and Banat By for accusing him of selling and giving away of the Scarborough Shoal to China during his backchannel talks in 2012.
“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 explained.
Meanwhile, Trillanes filed libel and cyber libel charges against a certain Guillermina Barrido and SMNI hosts and executives for publishing an interview in which Barrido repeatedly alleged that Trillanes tried
to convince her and purportedly paid her to be a fake witness against then President Duterte.
Barrido earlier filed a kidnapping case against Trillanes during the Duterte administration which was eventually dismissed by the Department of Justice.
Trillanes will also file criminal complaints before the National Bureau of Investigation against the social media account owners of Mr. Realtalker or Lods Chinito (with Tiktok handles @chinitorealtalker and @chinitotisoy01); Melagin Nastor Evangelista or CATASTROPHE (with X handle @gurlbehindthisb); JoeLas
(with X handle “@j_laspinas), Michael Gorre or KampilaBoy (with X handle @KampilanBoy); Hampaslupang Mandaragat (with X handle @JohnAmasa2); and X handle @SaraAll2028, for similarly spreading disinformation and libelous statements about him.
The filing of cases today is a push back against the culture of disinformation which propagated and was encouraged during the Duterte administration,” Trillanes further explained.
