Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday filed multiple criminal complaints against Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Esther Margaux “Mocha” Uson for allegedly spearheading the spread of fake news over his supposed offshore bank accounts.
Trillanes charged Uson with libel under the Anti-Cybercrime Law and graft before the Office of the Ombudsman. He also accused Uson of grave misconduct for performing at a casino in Pasay City.
"As a responsible senior government official, mas mataas ang standards natin, di ba? Dapat vine-verify yung truthfulness bago tayo mag-share," Trillanes said in an interview after filing the complaint.
"Kumuha ka ng abugadong magaling at mabibigat itong kasong ikakaharap mo," the lawmaker advised Uson.
Trillanes had earlier threatened to file libel charges against Uson, Erwin Tulfo, and Ben Tesiorna, the person he said was behind the Davao Breaking News Facebook page which published his bank accounts.
Trillanes to Uson: Kumuha ka ng abogadong magaling @gmanews pic.twitter.com/46uSdou93g— TJ Roxas (@tj_roxas) September 22, 2017
Uson has yet to issue a statement on the complaint against her, but Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella has already said Trillanes was free to lodge the complaint but insisted the Palace does not spread fake news.
In a Facebook post, Mocha earlier told Trillanes to look up the word “alleged” indicating that the details of the bank accounts she shared was the claim of the Davao Breaking News.
Trillanes said he attached to his complaint copies of Uson's social media posts on the matter.
He said he wanted his complaint to serve as a lesson for Uson and end the "era of fake news" in the country.
"Let this be a lesson not only for Ms. Mocha Uson but yung sa mga ordinaryong mga kababayan natin na may penchant na mag-share ng pekeng news," Trillanes said.
"The era of fake news is over. Lahat nung mga magkakalat ng fake news ngayon ay mananagot sa ating batas. So iyan ang kailangan matutunan ng lahat ng mga nagkakalat ng fake news," he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte had exposed the lawmaker’s supposed bank accounts in Singapore, forcing Trillanes to fly to the country to debunk the chief executive’s claims.
Duterte would later admit he made up a wrong account number to fool Trillanes. The supposedly "actual" account number the President later revealed, however, turned out "invalid" based on attempts to deposit money into it.
In Singapore, Trillanes went to DBS Bank where a manager informed him there were no bank accounts under his name.
Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano was also at the Ombudsman to support Trillanes, saying he hoped the complaint against Uson would serve as a lesson for those spreading fake news.
“Mahilig kasi ang gobyerno na maglabas ng impormasyon na hindi verified at sabihin lang na joke, at sabihin lang na hindi naman sinasadya o alleged. The fact is kung hindi verified yan wag mong ilabas,” Alejano said. — With Trisha Macas/MDM/KVD, GMA News
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