VP Binay Files 200M Libel Charges vs Trillanes, Cayetano, Ombudsman, etc
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Vice President Jejomar Binay finally strikes back, slapping Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and co with P200 million defamation charges.
Binay’s Lawyer, Atty. Claro Certeza, filed the P200 million ($4.41 million) damage suit at the Makati Regional Trial Court on Monday morning.
Among the accused are Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Sen. Trillanes, Sen Allan Peter Cayetano, Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Other defendants also include members and officers of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and his political rivals in Makati: former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado, Mario Hechanova, Renato Bondal, and Nicolas Enciso.
Certeza told the media this is Binay’s chance to hit back his critics.
“They have been repeatedly saying that this is also the amount the VP got from his so-called illegal activities. Binabalik lang ni VP sa kanila kasi wala siyang P200 million. Baka sa kanila makuha. Now let’s see who has the P200 million,” Certeza said in a phone interview via Rappler.com
(The Vice President is just returning the allegation. The VP does not have P200 million. Perhaps, from them, he will be able to get it.)
In April, the vice-president’s son, Mayor Junjun Binay, filed a libel complaint against Trillanes for allegations of corruption made about him and his family.
The said complaint was filed by Junjun Binay at the Office of the Makati City Prosecutor.
The Vice President and his camp have repeatedly denied all the corruption allegations hurled against them, saying these were part of an operation to diminish Binay’s chances of winning in the 2016 presidential elections.
In response, Trillanes, in a press statement, said the complaint filed by Binay only showed that the official was not in panic mode.
“Nagpapakita lang ito na nagpapanic na si VP Binay kaya sinusubukan na lang niyang takutin ang mga taong umuusig sa kanya,” Trillanes said.
The senator said the complaint would not stop him from exposing the graft allegedly committed by Binay.
Meanwhile, lawyer Rawnsle Lopez of the Office of the Ombudsman Public Information Office refused to give a statement as of the moment, saying that they have yet to receive a copy of the complaint
More Details at: Rappler.com, GMA News
