Trillanes files cyberlibel complaint vs. Roque, SMNI, others

Former Senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV on Tuesday filed cyberlibel complaints against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), and others over their remarks against him.

Trillanes filed separate complaints against Roque, vlogger Byron Cristobal or Banat By, and some SMNI personalities and anchors as well as a Davao businessman before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

The former lawmaker and military officer said the complaints stem from the violation of Section 4(c), paragraph 4 in relation to Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Articles 353 to 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Section 91 of Republic Act 10951.

Sought for comment on the complaint, Roque said “Bring it on!”

“He who cannot fight in the free marketplace of ideas resort to the filing of libel cases! By filing these cases, he has proven himself to be an enemy of freedom of expression,” Roque said in a message to reporters on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cristobal declined to give his statement, saying he was still waiting for a copy of the complaint.

In his complaint, Trillanes said Roque posted a video on Facebook where he accused him of giving away Scarborough Shoal to China. He said Cristobal played Roque’s remarks in his own video and then expressed his concurrence on the statements.

“Despite my repeated explanations on what transpired during my backchannel talks, including official statements from incumbent government officials during Senate hearings conducted that we did not lose Scarborough, these pro-Duterte personalities continue to harp on this fake news to deflect blame from the Duterte administration,” Trillanes said in a statement.

Meanwhile, he also filed a complaint against a Davao businessman over an interview where she claimed that Trillanes tried to pay her to be a fake witness against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He filed the complaint against SMNI and its hosts for broadcasting the interview.

Sought for comment, SMNI legal counsel Atty. Mark Tolentino said they will comment once they have received a copy of the complaint. 

Trillanes added that he would file complaints against social media account owners before the National Bureau of Investigation for spreading disinformation about him.—RF/RSJ, GMA Integrated News