Trillanes files libel complaint vs Thinking Pinoy blogger

FILE: Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a libel complaint against pro-Duterte blogger Rey Joseph “RJ” Nieto, the person behind the blog Thinking Pinoy, over his Facebook post where United States (US) President Donald Trump allegedly called the senator a “drug lord.” (Photo: Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV/Facebook)

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a libel complaint against pro-Duterte blogger Rey Joseph “RJ” Nieto, the person behind the blog Thinking Pinoy, over his Facebook post where he alleged that  United States (US) President Donald Trump called the senator a “drug lord.”

Trillanes formally filed the complaint before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office early Wednesday, asking for the imprisonment of the blogger and payment for civil damages.

Last October 31, Nieto posted an article on the “The Thinking Pinoy” Facebook page with the headline “Trump calls Trillanes a Drug Lord.” Nieto mentioned a purported report where the US President allegedly called Trillanes a “little narco” or a drug lord.

“Does Trump’s government know something?” Nieto added in his post.

The complaint, which alleges libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, stated that Nieto’s post was a malicious imputation that was “published far and wide and all over the world.”

Nieto’s post has gained 62,000 reactions on Facebook and was shared 15,759 times as of November 22, 2017.

He said that the blogger’s claim constitutes ‘fake news,’ adding that Nieto failed to cite the source or the news outfit which purportedly conducted the supposed interview with Trump.

Trillanes added that the transcripts of Trump’s press engagements, provided by the US embassy, does not include comments about him and as a matter of fact, the Philippine Star even verified the blogger’s post and came out with an article “No Trump mention of Trillanes.”

“Being a very vocal and staunch critic of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, of whom Respondent Nieto is a self-confessed diehard supporter and defender, Respondent Nieto’s post was clearly made solely for the purpose of besmirching my reputation and maligning my name,” Trillanes said in his complaint.

“Needless to state, since the Respondent Nieto caused the publication of the derogatory post through the electronic medium (i.e., using a computer system), respondent is clearly guilty of the cybercrime offense of LIBEL, as defined and penalized under the Cybercrime Prevention Act,” he added.

The senator is seeking payment for civil damages amounting to P2-million for both moral and exemplary damages, and another P250,000 to cover legal fees.

Aside from Nieto, Trillanes had earlier filed cyber-libel and graft complaints against another pro-administration blogger, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, for spreading “fake news” about his alleged offshore bank accounts.