Trillanes refutes claims made against him by Sabio

In an open letter, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV refuted several allegations made against him by Atty. Jude Sabio, the lawyer who filed a case against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court and counsel of self-confessed Davao Death Squad hitman Edgar Matobato. 

Among the matters that Trillanes addressed was Sabio's claim that the former senator owed him P700,000 in lawyer's fees.

"Maliwanag mismo sa interview mo [sa ABS-CBN] na hindi ako ang nagpagawa sayo ng billing na yan at hindi rin ako ang kliyente mo. Si Edgar Matobato ang kliyente mo at maliwanag sa ating lahat na pro bono ang engagement nyo dahil hindi nya naman kayang magbayad," wrote Trillanes.

Nevertheless, the ex-lawmaker countered that he had "helped" Sabio in his human rights work by providing him P50,000 to P100,000 a month, starting late 2016 until Trillanes left office on June 30, 2019.

Trillanes also made it clear that his "help" could not be construed as a retainer as he had his own lawyer and Sabio had never represented him.

Furthermore, he had also paid for Sabio's many other needs, including medicines, rent, plane tickets, other transportation requirements, and even Sabio's Mandatory Continuing Legal Education seminars.

Trillanes added that he had also paid for Sabio's plane tickets to and from the Hague where Sabio made his ICC filing.

As to Sabio's claim that Trillanes was behind Peter "Bikoy" Advincula and the infamous "Totoon Narco-List" videos because he had attempted to convince him to represent Advincula, Trillanes said that Sabio's own words proved otherwise.

"Assuming, for the sake of discussion na tama ang pagkaalala mo sa nangyari, sa interview mo mismo ay sinabi mo na ang sabi ko sayo ay may 'ibang handlers' si Bikoy na nagpapahanap lang sila ng abogado nya. Hindi ba maliwanag yun na I'm not directly involved with him?" countered Trillanes.

But despite all of these allegations, Trillanes said he was sympathetic to Sabio's situation. "Alam ko ang hirap na pinagdadaanan mo ngayon. Hindi lang problemang financial at physical, kundi na rin pressure galing sa mga mahal mo sa buhay," wrote the ex-senator.

"[K]apit lang. Tiwala lang. Dasal lang. Sayang ang mga naiambag mo sa laban para sa mga karapatang pantao. Hayaan mo, balang araw sa malapit-lapit na hinaharap ay lilipas din itong mga pagsubok na to at magkikita tayong muli at masayang babalikan natin ang mga mabigat na yugtong ito na magaan ang dibdib at may matiwasay na pagiisip sa pagkakaalam na nakapaglingkod tayo sa Inang Bayan."

Last Friday, the Office of the Solicitor General had attempted, but failed, to introduce Sabio as a witness against Trillanes in the sedition case filed against him by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. — DVM, GMA News