Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has warned lawyer Levito Baligod that he will face another cyberlibel complaint after Baligod claimed online that Trillanes had offered P10 million each to 18 individuals tied to the so-called “maleta” allegations.
In a Facebook post on June 26, Baligod questioned the supposed offer, asking why Trillanes would need to pay each of the 18 to conceal the truth. According to the Daily Tribune, Baligod also posted a photo of a mobile phone showing an alleged text message offering money in exchange for withdrawing a case and staying away from the media. Baligod did not identify the supposed sender of the message or provide evidence verifying its authenticity.
Trillanes responded the following day, demanding that Baligod take down the post. “Mr. Baligod, i-takedown mo ‘yang fake news mo na ‘yan kundi panibagong kaso ang isasampa ko sa’yo. Ito ang iyong huling babala,” he wrote on social media.
The Tribune reported that Baligod’s post came after Trillanes expressed confidence that one of the 18 alleged former bodyguards of fugitive former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co would eventually recant and admit that their claims about suitcases of cash linked to anomalous flood control projects were fabricated.
The exchange is the latest flashpoint in a legal battle stemming from accusations that Trillanes received cash supposedly intended for International Criminal Court investigators looking into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. The 18 men, who claim to be former Marines who served as Co’s security personnel, alleged they delivered the funds. Trillanes has repeatedly denied the accusations.
Trillanes has already pursued multiple complaints over the matter. In March, he filed cyberlibel complaints before the Department of Justice against the 18, along with several SMNI hosts accused of helping spread the allegations. On June 25, he filed a separate cyberlibel complaint against Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Rodante Marcoleta and the same 18 individuals over statements made during a June 4 hearing that Trillanes has described as a non-Senate-sanctioned proceeding held after the chamber’s leadership reorganization.
Trillanes has signaled he intends to keep pressing charges against those who repeat the allegations, saying each repetition could constitute a separate count.
