Paolo Duterte, Mans Carpio file libel rap vs. Trillanes over ‘extortion from Uber’

Former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law Attorney Mans Carpio have filed separate complaints for libel against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for claims that they extorted money from ride-sharing firm Uber and other firms.

Paolo is President Rodrigo Duterte's son while Carpio is a presidential son-in-law, the husband of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

In their complaints, Paolo and Carpio alleged that Trillanes made a defamatory publication when he said in a radio interview that the brothers-in-law were asking money from Uber and other companies regulated by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, the Road Board and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Trillanes claimed in the interview that Paolo and Carpio asked money from Uber in connection with its franchise and in conspiracy with an LTFRB official in Central Visayas.

The senator also claimed that they were involved in extortion activities related to the affairs of the Road Board and the DPWH.

“I was aghast to hear the respondent maliciously accusing me and my brother-in-law, Atty. Manases Carpio, of supposed rampant and widespread corruption and extortion based on sheer information fed to him, the identity of whom however he did not identify or disclose. Respondent's accusations against me and Atty. Carpio are downright false, unfounded and based on hearsay information,” Paolo said in his complaint.

“Based on the foregoing, there is sufficient probable cause to indict and charge respondent for libel. Evidently, it was and is intended to malign and destroy my good name and reputation, locally and internationally. This is especially so as I am the eldest son of our sitting President Rodrigo Duterte,” he added.

Paolo's complaint, received by Assistant Regional Prosecutor Karl Andre Salcedo of the Davao City Office of the Special Prosecutor, was dated September 6 or just two days after President Duterte issued Proclamation 572 which voids the amnesty granted to Trillanes eight years ago for the Senator's involvement in two failed instances of mutiny. Such revocation of amnesty was unprecedented.

Proclamation 572 also orders the arrest of Trillanes, but the government is yet to secure a warrant of arrest from a competent court vs. Trillanes.

Last year, Trillanes has also accused Paolo of being a member of a drug triad smuggling drugs in the country, including the P6.4 smuggled meth which entered the country via the Customs Bureau's express lane.

Trillanes also claimed that Paolo has a tattoo on his back to prove his allegiance to the drug triad. The Senator dared the President's son to show his back to belie his claims, but Paolo refused to do so.

Respondent has purveyed and labeled me and my brother in law as corrupt grafters and extortionists

Under the Revised Penal Code, libel is defined as a “public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit, or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead.”—NB, GMA News