Trillanes files perjury raps vs 18 ‘ex-Marines’ over $2M ICC claim

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday filed perjury charges at the Department of Justice against 18 individuals identified as “ex-Marines” over claims that he supposedly received $2 million intended for investigators of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Trillanes also filed cyberlibel complaints and a case for violation of Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code, or Incriminating an Innocent Person, against the lawyer of the group, Levito Baligod.

Also named in the complaint were former congressman Mike Defensor and internet personalities Jay Sonza, Lorraine Badoy and Cathy Binag for allegedly spreading defamatory statements online.

The 18 “ex-Marines” earlier claimed they acted as “bagmen” who delivered P805 billion to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte, and former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.

They also alleged that they delivered money to Trillanes and to personnel of the ICC, where former president Rodrigo Duterte is facing a crimes against humanity case in The Hague, Netherlands.

Trillanes denied receiving $2 million or any amount from Co for ICC operations, saying the allegations were part of a smear campaign not only against him but also against ICC investigators.

He also said that even if he admitted hosting ICC personnel, there was nothing illegal about the act.

The former senator asserted that the Duterte camp was behind the statements made by the 18 individuals, claiming the accusations were meant to serve as propaganda in favor of Duterte, who is facing crimes against humanity charges before the ICC.

Trillanes said he believes the individuals involved would eventually reveal who orchestrated the allegations.