A DAVAO CITY court denied the Dec. 4, 2018 motion of the Department of Justice (DoJ) for issuance of hold departure order (HDO) against Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV over his four libel cases, ruling that he is not a flight risk.
The opposition senator and staunch critic of President Rodrigo R. Duterte flew to the President’s hometown on Tuesday to plead not guilty in the libel complaints filed against him by presidential son Paolo Z. Duterte and his brother-in-law Manases R. Carpio.
Emerging from the closed proceedings before the Davao Regional Trial Court Branch 54 under Judge Melinda A. Dayanghirang, Mr. Trillanes reiterated his position that the cases against him were “purely political harassment.”
“Despite (the cases being harassment) we are here in Davao (City) to face these, so we can show that we are not running away or turning our back on these,” said the senator, a leading critic of the President and his family.
The court denied the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) petition for a hold-departure order against Mr. Trillanes, saying he is “not a flight risk and that he will abide with his conditions imposed for his provisional liberty including his appearance before this Court when required.”
Mr. Trillanes is facing four counts of libel for allegedly accusing Messrs. Duterte and Carpio in media interviews of being involved in extortion and illegal drugs.
The complainants are also seeking P5 million in moral damages.
Mr. Trillanes did not request for security during his visit, but police officer Florizil F. Villarin told the media the local police decided to dispatch about 30 personnel to secure the senator.
Meanwhile, one of the lawyers of the complainants, Rainier L. Madrid, said the arraignment was a welcome development because it signals the start of the court proceedings on the cases.
Sought for comment on Mr. Trillanes’s petition for a change of trial venue, Mr. Madrid said, “As you can see he has not been harassed here, the people of Davao have been so kind to him.” — Carmelito Q. Francisco with Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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