Trillanes to Thinking Pinoy: Sa korte ka na magpaliwanag

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday said Thinking Pinoy blogger Rey Joseph Nieto should explain before the court  before calling him "ignorant of the law."

Trillanes earlier said he would file libel cases against Nieto, a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, and a newspaper columnist for allegedly circulating "fake news."

In response, Nieto said Trillanes was "ignorant of the law," saying the lawmaker should have looked up what the word "reportedly" meant.

"Ah ganoon ba? E di sa korte na lang siya magpaliwanag," Trillanes told reporters after he filed multiple criminal complaints against Senator Richard Gordon at the Office of the Ombudsman.

"Matatapos na namin 'yan, baka next week ma-file na namin yan (libel complaint)," he added.

Nieto, in a blog post on November 2, said that he had earlier published a photo with a caption saying that Trump had "reportedly" called Trillanes a "narco."

Veteran journalist Al Pedroche has apologized for writing the newspaper column that claimed US President Donald Trump called Trillanes "little narco," saying that the article was meant as a laughing matter.

In his Pilipino Star Ngayon Column "Fake news inupakan ni Sen. Trillanes," Pedroche admitted that he was responsible for the "Little Narco met with Sen. Marco" article which Trillanes dismissed as fake news.

Pedroche's column was picked up by another Philippine Star columnist Mary Ann Reyes in her opinion piece "A major embarrassment," which was taken down on November 3 as the "supposed information cited in the column has been disputed by various other sources."

Trillanes has since accepted the apology of Pedroche.

During the Senate hearing on fake news last month, Trillanes scored Nieto for posing outside the office of Senator Leila de Lima, who is presently detained for drug-related charges.

In September, Trillanes sued another staunch Duterte supporter, Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux "Mocha" Uson, for allegedly spearheading the spread of fake news that he had offshore bank accounts.

Trillanes charged Uson before the Office of the Ombudsman with three counts of libel under the Anti-Cybercrime Law and using falsified documents under the Revised Penal Code.

For performing at a casino in Pasay City, Uson was also accused of grave misconduct, and violation of the Code of Ethics and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees [Sec. 7(B)(2)], as well as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act [Section 3(e)]. —NB, GMA News