Last Monday, Judge Dina Pestano Teves of the Makati Regional Trial Court 142, released the warrant of arrest for Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV after finding probable cause in the suit filed by former Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.
Trillanes, who is running for vice president as an independent candidate in the coming May election, is in Washington D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast, an annual event hosted by members of the United States Congress and organized by a Christian Fellowship Foundation attended by some 3,500 guests from all over the world. The U.S. president usually attends the event held every first Thursday of February.
But the senator sent his reaction to the news about the warrant of arrest for him. “If the Binay family believes that I can be intimidated and threatened from exposing them, they are badly mistaken. I will do everything I can to make sure that plunderers will not rule this country again”, he said.
His lawyer, Rey Robles, said they have not yet received the official copy of the investigating prosecutor’s Resolution. But he assured the public that the moment the senator arrives “he will voluntarily submit himself to the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, if so required.”
Robles added: “This is without prejudice to the Senator’s right to file a motion for reconsideration or even appeal said resolution to the Department of Justice, if warranted by the circumstances.”
Having survived seven years of detention for standing up to the most powerful person of the land, a libel suit is not something that would make the crusading senator cower in fear.
The libel suit stemmed from media interviews after he filed a Senate resolution in April last year to investigate the alleged “Justice for sale” practice in the Court of Appeals and other branches of the judiciary following the March 16, 2015 temporary restraining order issued by the C.A. on the suspension by the Ombudsman of Junjun Binay in connection with the investigation of the alleged overpriced construction of the Makati Parking Building.
Trillanes, citing “reliable sources privy to the matter”, said, “a lawyer by the name of Pancho Villaraza facilitated the transaction and talked to Associate Justices Reyes and Acosta and each of them received twenty million pesos for the TRO they issued. When the Ombudsman, DILG, and DOJ did not recognize the TRO, a second transaction was allegedly consummated with Associate Justices Reyes and Acosta allegedly receiving an additional five million pesos each upon the issuance of a writ of permanent injunction. This was purportedly the reason why the concerned CA division issued the writ of preliminary injunction with undue and inordinate haste long before its TRO is supposed to elapse.”
The CA associate justices Trillanes referred to were Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta. Pancho Villaraza is the well known lawyer Arthur Villaraza, who is reportedly supporting the presidential bid of Vice President Jejomar Binay.
In filing the libel suit against Trillanes, Junjun Binay said “The damaging and ruinous claims spewed out by respondent Trillanes are mere concoctions and fabrications with no other purpose than to malign, discredit, ruin my reputation, and besmirch my good name as well as that of my family.”
Trillanes is also facing a contempt case before the CA.
Trillanes invoked parliamentary immunity and freedom of speech as the case of the TRO was connected with the investigation of the overpriced Makati Parking Building which had led to other alleged irregularities in Makati and exposed the wealth of the Binays including the sprawling Hacienda in Batangas.
TROs for sale is an open secret in the legal community. It’s something that everybody seems helpless about and has come to accept. But truthfulness is not a defense in libel.
The elements of libel are publication, sharing with others; identifiability; imputation of vice, defect or crime; malice (ill-motive). It carries a minimum punishment of six months and maximum punishment is six years and a fine.
Actually the issuance of that TRO was a brief victory for Junjun Binay because last October, in an administrative case, the Ombudsman ordered his dismissal and perpetual disqualification from holding a public office.
The Binays have also included Trillanes in a P200 million damage suit they filed against their detractors including Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Things are still unfolding.
Sa Pilipinas mahirap talagang intindihin. Uusigin mo ang isang tao dahil may kasalanan para managot sa batas. Pero pagtagal ang nag uusig naman ang uusigin para managot sa naging kasalanan.
Maganda talaga kung ang maging pangulo ng bansa ay mula sa Saudi para magkaroon ng batas katulad sa Saudi. Maayos sana ang Pilipinas kung ang pagpapairal ng batas ay katulad sa Saudi.
If an Individual, Police Authorities, Govt accused anyone or any individual of wrongdoings which defamed his person and can not prove it in the court of law, then the govt., or that individual must be ready to pay the Price under the law..in Many Jurisdiction the victim of slander and libel could seek relief against the defendant and not in a criminal court. In others could do both. And for reference here is a good example.
Perhaps that is one REASON why Inquiry is always Blameless…
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The Airbus affair refers to allegations of secret commissions paid to members of the Government of Canada during the term of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1984–93), in exchange for then-crown corporation Air Canada’s purchase of a large number of Airbus jets. The Chairman of Airbus (a European consortium) at the time of the contract competition was Franz Josef Strauss (1915–1988), a high profile German politician in Bavaria.
The order in question had long been pending, and both Boeing and Airbus had been competing heavily for the contract. Both offered shared production in Canada, and Boeing went so far as to buy de Havilland Canada to further strengthen their bargaining position, as well as gain access to the feederliner market where they, at that time, had no presence. The contract was eventually won by Airbus in 1988, with an order for 34 Airbus A320s, as well as the sale of some of Air Canada’s existing Boeing 747 fleet. Boeing immediately put de Havilland up for sale, thereby putting that company in jeopardy, but the blame for this was generally placed on the government.
In 1995, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accused Mulroney and Frank Moores of accepting kickbacks from Karlheinz Schreiber on the sale of Airbus planes to the government-owned airline during Mulroney’s term as Prime Minister of Canada. The allegations were made in a letter sent by the RCMP to the government of Switzerlandseeking access to banking records. Schreiber had earlier raised money for Mulroney’s successful 1983 bid to win the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Mulroney denied the allegations, and launched a $50 million defamation suit against the Canadian government, alleging that the newly elected Liberal government of Jean Chrétien was engaging in a smear campaign against its predecessor. The government settled out of court in early 1997, and agreed to publicly apologize to Mulroney, as well as paying the former prime minister’s $2.1 million legal fees.
Although there is no evidence that Mulroney accepted kickbacks while prime minister, he acknowledged in 2003 that shortly after stepping down in 1993 that he accepted $225,000 over 18 months from Schreiber, in three cash payments of $75,000 each. Mulroney was still a member of the Canadian House of Commons when one of the payments was made. Mulroney claims that this money was paid to him for consulting services he rendered to help promote a fresh pasta business, and to develop international contacts for Schreiber. Mulroney had previously not admitted accepting any commissions from Schreiber during his lawsuit against the Canadian government, and later under oath specifically denied any business dealings with him. Mulroney has not yet provided evidence of any work he performed for that money, and declared it as income to Revenue Canada only years later, when Schreiber had come under criminal investigation in Germany. Schreiber ridiculed their dealings in pasta-macaroni as nothing more than being sent a single flyer, and has stated that the three separate payments were actually $100,000 each in $1000 bills, a total of $300,000′
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Years later, during the House of Commons Ethics Committee Inquiry for Legislative measure, it was revealed and Mulroney admitted under oath that he receive payments from the Airbus Lobbyist the total sum of $300 thousands for fees but not during his terms as PM but a day after leaving office (nobody believes him) ..But since inquiry is always BLAMELESS and nobody can prove that he was lying when he started lobbying, even retired PM Chretien would not make any comment because he said the last he did it cost the Govt $2.1 millions in settlement to Mulroney.
Some of the Legislations that resulted from the Inquiry is the Registration of all Lobbyists..That there should be a Window of Five years after leaving Politics before becoming a Political Lobbyist and must be a Registered one.
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Ay Junjun, sa batang edad ay malalampasan mo ang katarantaduhan at kakurapan ng tatay mo! Buti na lang perpetual ban ka sa pag-hold ng public office.
Magkano naman kaya ang suhol at ang bilis mag-issue ng warrant of arrest laban kay Sen Trillanes? Pwede bang TY lang yan….
senator trillanes, maraming malalaking buwaya diyan sa gabinete ni noynoy. hindi mo nakikita? nariyan sina abad na pasimuno ng DAP. abaya na puro kabig sa pondo ng DOTC. donkey soullesswoman na magician at recyclist sa DSWD. sina alcala na walang awa sa mga magsasaka. yung showman ng MMDA na mahilig sa bikini at kakandidatong senador.
ayaw nating lahat na mamuno ang mga plunderer, huwag mong pabayaang makawala ang mga kurap sa gabinete ni ngoyngoy.
anim na taon kayong nagkakabungguang balikat, wala kang naamoy sa mga daga diyan sa administrasyon?
Ayan na ebidensya mismo. Superbilis ng warrant. Pero basta sila Binay taon binibilang.