Trillanes sues Baligod, others on ICC bribe claim
Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday struck back against 18 men identifying themselves as ex-Marines, their lawyer Levi Baligod and several others for spreading allegedly false information that he received $2 million from fugitive former Rep. Zaldy Co to bribe International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators.
Trillanes filed criminal complaints at the Department of Justice (DOJ) for perjury against the 18 men and cyberlibel and incriminating an innocent person against Baligod, ex-Rep. Michael Defensor, former broadcaster Jay Sonza, vlogger Cathy Binag and Lorraine Badoy-Partosa—a former spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).
He said Baligod and the others were instrumental in “propagating false allegations” when the lawyer presented the 18 men during a press conference on Feb. 24.
“I did not receive $2 million or any other amount from Zaldy Co for the ICC operations,” Trillanes said. “This was done not only to defame me but to cast doubt on the integrity of the ICC investigators.”
‘An honor’ for Defensor
In a message to reporters, Defensor welcomed the charges against him.
“It is an honor to stand alongside our brave and patriotic soldiers in this case,” he said.
Both Trillanes and former National Security Adviser Eduardo Año are former soldiers who, instead of seeking the truth behind the allegations of the 18, filed charges against them, Defensor said.
Año was the first to file a criminal complaint against the 18 men, Baligod and Defensor.
As a complainant since 2017 in the crimes against humanity case of former President Rodrigo Duterte for the drug war killings, Trillanes said he was expected to actively communicate with the ICC’s prosecutors—from gathering evidence to securing witnesses.
He pointed to the “Duterte camp” as the instigator of the allegations against him. “They stand to benefit most from this,” he said, when asked why he was accusing the Dutertes.
Trillanes said the timing of the allegations against him was “no coincidence” as it came on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution on Feb. 25, the day dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his family fled Malacañang in 1986, and on the second day of the ICC pretrial hearing of the charges against Duterte.
The intention was to “agitate the public and sow discord,” he said.
Praise from Sara
In a statement on Thursday, Vice President Sara Duterte, the ex-president’s daughter, praised the 18 men.
“I admire the courage of the former security personnel of ex-Congressman Zaldy Co who dared to speak out about the alleged delivery of suitcases filled with billions of pesos in government funds,” she said.
During his Feb. 24 press conference, Baligod introduced the 18 men who allegedly delivered a total of P805 billion in alleged kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects to several politicians, including President Marcos.
Baligod said it was Mr. Marcos who masterminded the scheme and claimed that they delivered the funds to, among others, former Speaker Martin Romualdez and Co, for whom they had worked as security personnel.
6 of 18 face murder raps
They also alleged that they were instructed to give $2 million, through Trillanes, as a bribe to the ICC investigators.
They also said that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla met the ICC investigators when he was still the justice secretary. Remulla on Thursday admitted meeting them at his house.
The Philippine Navy earlier said that most of the 18 were discharged dishonorably from the Marines and four were never part of the Marine Corps.
Remulla said they included six who had been charged with murder. He did not give details of their cases.
He said he met the ICC investigators in connection with witnesses [against Duterte] who reached out to the DOJ for protection.
“Filipinos who testified or will testify [at the ICC] have to be kept safe. They are asking for help. Can we refuse them? We cannot refuse them,” he said.
Remulla said that after their meeting, he did not notice the 18 men who were supposed to have been monitoring the ICC investigators.
He said he had reached out to Baligod to ask for individual affidavits from each of the 18 men since such documents must be based on “personal knowledge.”
Baligod had submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman a joint affidavit alleging the P805-billion kickbacks and the $2-million “bribe” signed by all of the 18 men. But Remulla said there were “conflicting accounts” of their whereabouts and status.
For ‘political effect’
He said the Office of the Ombudsman deputized the National Bureau of Investigation to validate the signatories “to help us get to the bottom of it.”
Remulla believed that the claims made by the 18 men were intended for “political effect”—a calculated move by “local” personalities to create a “political tipping point,” and that the ultimate goal would have been to incite unrest within the military.
“They want a branch of the service to rise up in arms. That’s what it is,” he said, adding that the office is looking into various individuals with “economic and political motives” behind the move. Remulla did not identify specific personalities.
He said that he would not personally lead the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest.
“I’m allowing the people in the Ombudsman’s office to look at it for themselves,” Remulla said. “We are here to be fair.” —WITH REPORTS FROM FAITH ARGOSINO AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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