Trillanes eyes fresh complaint vs. 18 Zaldy Co’s bodyguards

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV (Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV/facebook)

MANILA – Former senator Antonio Trillanes on Monday said he will file another complaint against the 18 former bodyguards of dismissed Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.

Trillanes made this remark as he attended the resumption of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) preliminary investigation into the cyber libel charges he and others filed against the group.

“I will be filing another one for the latest statements they made,” Trillanes said, referring to the group’s appearance in a Senate hearing under Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s bloc on June 4.

The group’s lawyer, Levito Baligod, told reporters that he has received a request from the Office of the Ombudsman to meet with the 18 bodyguards.

“Recently, nakatanggap ako ng tawag galing sa Office of the Ombudsman at humingi sila sa akin ng schedule kung kalian maaaring pumunta ang mga sundalo doon. Meron na kaming schedule, mag-umpisa sa June 11 and then 15, 16, onwards na (Recently, I received a call from the Office of the Ombudsman and they asked me for a schedule of when the soldiers can go there. We already have a schedule, starting on June 11 and then 15, 16, onwards),” Baligod said.

“Of course,” he said when asked if they would comply. “Kasi doon namin ni-file affidavit (Because we filed an affidavit there).”

SEC complaint vs Villars

Meanwhile, the DOJ also resumed its preliminary investigation into the market-manipulation cases filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the Villar Group.

During the investigation, the prosecution sought clarifications from the audit firm, Punongbayan & Araullo, over its valuation study of the Villars’ properties.

Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Peter Ong said the audit firm claimed it gave a copy of the Villar Group’s “draft financial statements” following the latter’s request, even as a thorough audit was still ongoing in 2024.

The firm said the draft financial statements were prepared to show the potential impact on the properties’ “costing”.

“Binigay daw nila yon, (They gave it) just to show to the company or submit to the company upon the request of the company kung anong impact sa paggamit ng fair-value method of valuating the investment properties as against the original cost method na ginamit bago bilhin yung mga 400 hectares ata na lupa iyon (What is the impact of using the fair-value method of valuing the investment properties as against the original cost method used before purchasing the 400 hectares of land),” Ong said.

Ong, however, refused to comment on whether the situation may be considered an irregularity since the case is still pending.

The next hearing on the cases for market manipulation, insider trading and misleading disclosures is set on July 1.