Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV said the libel case that President Rodrigo Duterte’s eldest son, Paolo Duterte, and his son-in-law Manases “Mans” Carpio filed against him is another way to ‘harass’ him.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, September 18, Trillanes confirmed that his camp received a notice regarding the libel complaint by the younger Duterte and Carpio wherein the Senator was ordered to file a counter-affidavit within 10 days from receipt.
“Mukhang pinapaspasan nila itong libel case na ito at may mga hakbang ang aking abogado (It seems like they are rushing this libel case but my lawyer has steps on how) to deal with that particular case,” Trillanes said.
“Pero it’s very very obvious na talagang naghahanap ng mga paraan (But it is very very obvious that they are really looking for a way) to shake me down, to harass me, pero haharapin po natin ‘yan (but we will face that),” he added.
In his complaint, the former Davao City Vice Mayor accused Trillanes of making “downright false, baseless, and unfounded” claims after the latter, in a radio interview with DYAB Cebu in September 2017, said the younger Duterte and Carpio conspired with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in extorting car-hailing company Uber and other similar companies.
The Presidential son also said Trillanes “defamed and labelled” them of corruption and extortion in which the Road Board and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were involved.
Trillanes, however, told reporters that he could not remember the radio interview that the younger Duterte was referring to in his complaint.
“Alam niyo for some reason, chinarge niya ako doon sa isang interview daw sa Cebu na hindi ko nga maalala kung anuman ‘yun. Pero hindi tungkol sa links niya sa ilegal na droga (You know for some reason, he charged me for an interview in Cebu that I do not even remember whatever it was. But it was not about his links with illegal drugs),” he said.
According to him, the libel suit can just be the ploy of the then Vice Mayor to ‘bring’ him to Davao City, where the Duterte family is influential.
“Very obvious ‘yung gusto nilang gawin. Dadalhin nila sa teritoryo nila, mag-iimpluwensya sila (They are very obvious on what they were trying to do. They want to bring me in their territory where they can influence),” the Senator said.
“Alam n’yo, ‘yung mga judges diyan sa Davao City, eh nakaka-receive sila ng special allowances from the city government. Eh ‘yung kapatid ang mayor, so maliwanag na makakaimpluwensya ‘yun (You know, those judges in Davao City, they receive special allowances from the city government. The mayor is the younger Duterte’s sister so it is clear that they can influence there),” he added, referring to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Trillanes, who earlier announced that he will not leave the Senate premises until the issue on the revocation of his amnesty is resolved, said he will even go to Davao City to answer the complaints against him if it is needed.
This was not the first time the Presidential son and his brother-in-law filed a civil case against the Senator. The two slapped Trillanes with a complaint in 2017 for similar accusation in relation to the P6.4-billion shabu shipment controversy.