Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has taken his legal offensive a step further, filing cyberlibel complaints Monday at the Department of Justice against 18 alleged former Marines and several hosts of the SMNI news platform who accused him of receiving suitcases of cash intended for International Criminal Court investigators.
The complaints target SMNI personalities Byron “Banat By” Cristobal, Oliver “Coach Oli” Cristobal, “Master Judea,” and Arjay Piodina, alongside the ex-Marines whose media appearances formed the basis of the charges.
“Hanggat patuloy silang nagkakalat ng mga kasinungalingan nila, tuloy-tuloy lang ang mga isasampa kong kaso laban sa kanila (As long as they continue to spread their lies, I will continue to file cases against them). I will not stop as long as they keep opening their mouths to spew lies,” Trillanes said.
The former senator has flatly denied the central allegation — that he received USD2 million from Zaldy Co, a fugitive ex-party-list congressman implicated in anomalous flood control projects.
Monday’s filing is part of a broader legal campaign. Earlier this month, on March 5, Trillanes lodged perjury complaints against several other individuals connected to the same allegations, including lawyer Levi Baligod, former congressman Mike Defensor, former newscaster Jay Sonza, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict spokesperson Dr. Lorraine Badoy, and businesswoman Cathy Binag.
