Trillanes to drop case vs four of 18 ‘ex-marines’
MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Friday said that he had instructed his lawyer to drop the complaints he filed against the four of the 18 alleged “ex-marines who recently signed affidavits recanting their allegations in previous sworn statements against him, the International Criminal Court, and other personalities.
Claiming to be bodyguards for former Ako Bicol Representative Elizaldy Co, a group of 18 men accused Trillanes of pocketing $2 million to bribe International Criminal Court investigators, alongside allegations that they dropped off suitcases packed with cash to several political personalities.
Trillanes said he already communicated with his lawyer to withdraw the case he filed against the four men.
“Kaugnay sa report ng GMA news ng pag-recant ng apat na ex-soldiers ng kanilang mga naunang affidavits at allegations laban sakin, sa ICC at sa iba pang mga personalidad, sinabihan ko na ang aking abogado na i-atras na ang mga kaso na isinampa ko laban sa kanilang apat,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
(Regarding the GMA News report on the four former soldiers retracting their earlier affidavits and allegations against me, the ICC, and other personalities, I have already instructed my lawyer to withdraw the cases I filed against the four of them.)
During an interview with GMA News, the four men said they have already signed affidavits retracting their allegations in previous sworn statements submitted to the Ombudsman in February.
Trillanes sympathizes with 4 ex-marines
As a former soldier himself, Trillanes expressed sympathy to the four, further saying he hopes the remaining 14 “will eventually see the truth.”
“Bilang dating sundalo, nagsisimpatya ako sa pinagdadaanan nila na dahil sa kawalan ng kabuhayan ay pinagsamantalahan sila ng mga taong may madilim na layuning political. Sana ay may natutunan silang mabigat na leksyon sa mga pangyayaring ito,” Trillanes added.
(As a former soldier, I sympathize with what they are going through—being exploited by individuals with sinister political agendas due to their lack of livelihood. I hope they have learned a hard lesson from these events.) /jpv
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