Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has evaded arrest once again after he posted bail for the libel charges filed against him by former Davao City vice mayor and presidential son Paolo Duterte and the latter’s brother-in-law, lawyer Manases Carpio.
Presiding Judge Melinda Alconcel-Dayanghirang of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 54 in Davao City issued four arrests against him on December 7 and gave him 10 days to present himself in court.
The libel cases were earlier filed by Duterte after Trillanes said he was involved in the shipment of the P6.4 billion worth of crystal meth (shabu) from China. The illegal drugs reportedly slipped off the Bureau of Customs in May 2017.
Another libel case was filed separately by Duterte and Carpio against Trillanes after the latter said in a radio interview in Cebu that the two of them extorted money from Uber, a transportation network company.
Trillanes also claimed that the president’s son and his brother-in-law are involved in corruption.
The beleaguered senator paid for the 4 counts of libel charged against him which collectively cost P96,000 — P24,000 per count.
Last week, Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150, handling the rebellion case of the senator trashed the Department of Justice’s motion to reconsider its decision allowing the senator to travel abroad.
Trillanes posted a travel bond worth P200,000, to be able to travel to some parts of Europe and the United States from December 11 to January 11, 2019 for speaking engagements.
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