Former lawmaker Mike Defensor said it was an honor to be included in a case filed by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, along with 18 “ex-Marines.”
This came after Trillanes on Thursday filed a cyberlibel and incriminating an innocent person complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Defensor, lawyer Levito Baligod, and social media personalities Jay Sonza, Lorraine Badoy, and Cathy Binag over allegedly defamatory statements.
Meanwhile, a perjury complaint was filed against the 18 supposed former Marines who implicated Trillanes in allegedly receiving $2 million intended for investigators of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Personally, it is an honor to be with these fellow soldiers. It is an honor to be included in the case with them,” Defensor said during a press conference with the Marines, just moments after Trillanes went to the DOJ.
He said he was helping the supposed men in uniform so they would not end up like whistleblower Marine Sgt. Orly Guteza, who linked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the alleged money delivery scheme from flood control corruption.
Since late last year, after his exposé before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in September, Guteza’s whereabouts have been unknown.
“I'm helping them because I don't want what happened to Sergeant Guteza to happen, being pressured, pressed, and hidden," Defensor said.
The former congressman also urged Trillanes and National Security Council (NSC) adviser Eduardo Año to do their jobs and look into what he described as the exposés of their fellow servicemen.
“Their job should be to find out the truth. Look at the allegations of their fellow soldiers; these soldiers don't lie,” he added.
Año on Wednesday filed cybercrime and unlawful publication and utterances complaints against the Marines, Baligod, and Defensor.
This came after his name was included in a signed affidavit in which he was identified as allegedly being seen receiving a paper bag presumed to contain money following a meeting at the Polo Club townhouse that reportedly included Co, Romualdez, and Representative Leila De Lima.
Año described the allegations as “malicious imputations.”