QC Prosecutor junks Trillanes’ cyber libel complaint vs Roque

Metro Manila, Philippines - The cyber libel complaint filed by former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has been dismissed, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Wednesday, April 23.

DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said the Office of the Quezon City Prosecutor found insufficient evidence to file the criminal case.

“The aggrieved party has several remedies to exhaust,” Clavano said in a message to reporters.

Trillanes told NewsWatch Plus that he will file a motion for reconsideration.

“It's too early for him (Roque) to celebrate. Hindi pa nga sya makauwi [He can’t even go home],” the former senator said in a message.

Roque has been in the Netherlands, where he is applying for asylum due to “political persecution.”

The former presidential spokesperson expressed gratitude for the complaint dismissal.

“I thank the public prosecutors for applying the law on libel correctly,” Roque said in a statement.

Trillanes’ complaint stemmed from Roque’s video, posted on the latter’s Facebook and Tiktok accounts, in which he talked about the former senator’s purported secret agreement with China on the contested West Philippine Sea.

In his video, Roque said the Philippines did not lose an inch of its territory under the administration of his ally, former President Rodrigo Duterte, but instead claimed that the country lost a piece of it under former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s term.

Trillanes, who said the statement against him was “derogatory,” was designated as a backdoor negotiator with China under the Aquino administration.