By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Thursday filed a cyberlibel complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Rodante Marcoleta, along with 18 individuals identified as former bodyguards of ex-congressman Zaldy Co, over allegations made during a controversial Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
The complaint stems from the June 4, 2026 proceeding, which Trillanes described as a “rogue” and unauthorized hearing where he was accused of bribing representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC) through alleged cash deliveries.
According to Trillanes, the respondents repeatedly spread fabricated allegations that he received suitcases filled with money intended to influence ICC officials investigating the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
“They repeated the lies they told about giving me suitcases full of money supposedly for the ICC. That is not true, so for every word and every occasion that they repeat that lie, I will file a case against them,” Trillanes told reporters.
Trillanes argued that Senators Cayetano and Marcoleta were not merely observers during the hearing but actively facilitated the accusations by asking leading questions that allegedly encouraged witnesses to repeat what he described as false and defamatory statements.
The former senator also questioned the legitimacy of the June 4 proceedings, saying they were conducted despite a Senate leadership shake-up in which a quorum of 12 senators declared Senate leadership positions vacant. The move resulted in the installation of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate President and Sen. Erwin Tulfo as acting chair of the Blue Ribbon Committee.
Following the leadership change, Gatchalian declared June 4 a non-working day for Senate personnel, while Tulfo officially suspended the scheduled hearing on alleged flood control anomalies.
Despite the suspension, then Blue Ribbon chair Sen. Pia Cayetano proceeded with the hearing.
In his complaint, Trillanes asserted that the proceeding had no legal authority under Senate rules.
“The June 4, 2026 so-called Blue Ribbon hearing was a sham, a farce, a mockery of the official hearing. At most, it can be considered an ordinary press conference disguised as a public hearing,” the complaint stated.
During the livestreamed hearing, witness Bernard Gumban claimed he personally delivered paper bags containing between ₱5 million and ₱10 million, followed by six suitcases allegedly filled with cash, to the Magdalo headquarters in Quezon City.
Another witness, Belnard Tube, claimed the money was later converted into US dollars supposedly intended to support ICC investigators looking into alleged extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
Trillanes rejected the allegations as completely false and accused the respondents of conspiring to damage his reputation through a widely viewed online broadcast.
His complaint further cited remarks made during the hearing in which Cayetano allegedly suggested that “male-maleta” implied bribery, while Marcoleta reportedly described Trillanes’ dealings with the ICC as an act of betrayal against the country.
The cyberlibel complaint is now before the Department of Justice for preliminary investigation.
ia/xf
