Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) – Vice President Jejomar Binay filed on Monday (July 20) a P200-million damage suit for libel and violation of the Civil Code against some lawmakers and other government officials and the Philippine Daily Inquirer before the Makati Regional Trial Court.
Included in the suit were Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice.
According to Binay’s lawyer, Claro Certeza, the “malicious accusations” these lawmakers made against the vice president in media interviews outside the halls of the Senate and the House of Representatives could not be covered by parliamentary immunity.
Also included in the suit is Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales for allegedly prejudging the vice president’s plunder cases and for saying that the evidence against him were strong even if the preliminary investigation was not yet done.
The vice president also filed a case against the Philippine Daily Inquirer for frequent reporting of negative stories against him.
Certeza added that Renato Bondal, Nicolas Enciso VI, Ernesto Mercado, and Mario Hechanova were also included in the case for making aseless accusations against Binay.
The suit also included members of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) – Amando Tetangco, Emmanuel Dooc, Teresita Herbosa, and Julia Abad — for the alleged premature release of the confidential AMLC report and for withholding information related to the income and other sources of funds of Binay.
According to Certeza, the case was filed to prove that the accusations being thrown at the vice president were baseless and are only meant to malign his character and to destroy his chances of being elected President.
