Makati court issues arrest order vs Trillanes

THE Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV in connection with the libel case filed against him dismissed Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. against the lawmaker.

In April, Binay filed the libel complaint against Trillanes before the Office of the Makati City Prosecutors Office.

In his complaint, the mayor cited Trillanes' statement against him and his family, which allegedly intended to "malign, discredit, ruin" his reputation and "besmirch" his good name as well as that of his family, especially Vice President Jejomar Binay, the mayor's father.

Trillanes is member of Senate blue ribbon subcommittee that investigated the alleged anomalies in the projects of the City Government of Makati when the older Binay was still the city mayor.

Trillanes' Senate resolution, which seeks to probe the alleged overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building 2, prompted the subcommittee to initiate the inquiry.

The lengthy probe revealed that the Vice President pocketed money from several projects in Makati when he was the then mayor; and owned a 350-hectare property in Rosario, Batangas, several condominium units in Makati, and numerous bank accounts in the country and abroad.

Despite arrest warrant, Trillanes remained unfazed and vowed to prove that the corruption allegations against the Vice President were true.

"My lawyer is scrutinizing what would be the legal remedy (for this). But if the intention of Binay family is to prevent me from investigating them, they are wrong. I would not let burglars to lead our country," Trillanes said in a text message.

In a statement, Trillanes' lawyer Reynaldo Robles said their camp has yet to receive the official copy of the Makati court's arrest warrant.

Robles said Trillanes would abide by the court's decision and was ready to face the charges against him.

"Unfortunately, Senator Trillanes is on official trip abroad, attending an additional forum. The moment he arrives, he will voluntarily submit himself to the jurisdiction of the honorable court, if so required," Robles said.

"Needless to state, 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," he added.

Robles said he was confident that any attempt to intimidate Trillanes would not prosper.

"In 2003, Senator Trillanes was jailed for exposing anomalies in the government. I believe he is ready to face any consequence, including facing malicious cases and possible imprisonment, just to let the people know the truth regarding the massive corruption in Makati. This is especially true since Senator. Trillanes exposés about corruption are well within the scope of his mandate and his immunity as senator of the Republic," he said. (Sunnex)

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