The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office has subpoenaed former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and vlogger Byron Cristobal a.k.a Banat By through former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s libel and cyber libel complaint filed against the two in May.
To determine probable cause, prosecutors have begun conducting preliminary investigations to prove a crime had been committed. If and when probable cause is proven, and that libel and cyber libel had been committed, the case will be raised to court.
After having redacted much of the pertinent information about the case, Trillanes still posted the said subpoenas in his social media accounts, saying “The subpoenas are out!”
The libel and cyber libel complaints filed by Trillanes before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office were based on allegations by the two respondents which said that the former senator had sold Bajo de Masinloc and Panatag Shoal, both located along Scarborough Shoal, to China.
This alleged “sale” was said to have transpired during the former senator’s backchannel talks with Chinese officials in 2012. Another allegation against the former senator was his supposed actions to pay off a person who would stand as a “fake” witness against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Trillanes earlier revealed that he plans to file with the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) other criminal charges against several social media accounts for disinformation and equally libelous statements.
As for Roque’s response, he said that counter-affidavits and counter charges are being prepared against Trillanes’ “disloyalty” to the country.