Lambino on 'fake news' allegation: I'm ready to face consequences

Senatorial candidate Atty. Raul Lambino said Monday he is ready to face possible penalties should it be proven that he violated the law for supposedly spreading false information at the height of the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

At a press conference, Lambino said he has yet to receive a copy of the complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against him for allegedly claiming that the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the arrest of Duterte.

Likewise, he said that he has not yet received the show cause order issued by the SC against him regarding the same issue.

The lawyer said that he will formally answer the “fake news” allegation and reveal where he got the information regarding the alleged TRO once he receives a copy of the documents. Regardless, he stressed that he is prepared to face the consequences of his actions.

“Normal ‘yan sa aming mga [it’s normal among us] lawyers that if you are being asked to show cause why you are not going to be meted [out] with corresponding penalty or what, kapag sa determination ng Supreme Court ay meron kang nilabag na order ng SC [if the SC sees that you violated an order] or violation of the ethics of lawyer, then you have to face the consequences,” Lambino said.

“I am ready to face whatever penalty kung ‘yan ang sasabihin ng Supreme Court sa akin [if that is what the SC tells me], then I am going to ... I am not going to defy the honorable Supreme Court for whatever order they may give me,” he added.

No subpoena yet

Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, meanwhile, told GMA News Online that a subpoena may be issued against Lambino by the end of April.

“The case underwent evaluation so obviously, no subpoenas will be sent yet. Let us just wait for the [investigating prosecutor] to issue the subpoenas,” Fadullon said.

“Once assigned, issuance of the subpoena will follow. Hopefully before the end of the month,” he added.

To recall, on March 11, the day of Duterte's arrest, Lambino's camp and Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa filed a petition asking the SC to direct the government to release the former president from detention, and issue a TRO against the government's possible cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Before the former president was flown to The Hague, Netherlands that night, social media posts claimed that the SC granted the request and issued a TRO.

The SC later on ordered Lambino to explain why he should not face administrative action for spreading false information. The lawyer, in response, said he had no intention to spread fake news.

Last Tuesday, the NBI also filed a complaint against Lambino and former National Youth Commission chairman Ronald Cardema over the same issue for supposed violation of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, or for unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances.

Cardema, for his part, had denied that the information regarding the TRO came from him.

He said that the Duterte Youth Party-List will also launch a congressional inquiry on the alleged harassment or direction of the NBI, if it wins enough seats for the House of Representatives in Eleksyon 2025.

Duterte is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands for charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during his administration's war on drugs. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News