MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police has filed kidnapping with serious illegal detention complaint against former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and three others.
The PNP-CIDG accused Trillanes of violating Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code over the alleged kidnapping of Guillermina Lalic Barrido, also known as Guillerma Arcillas.
Others named as respondents are Fr. Albert Alejo, lawyer Jude Sabio, a certain “Sister Ling” of the "Convent of Cannussian Sisters" in Makati City and other unidentified persons.
The order named in the CIDG complaint does not exist although there is a Canossian Daughters of Charity convent in Paco, Manila.
The complaint stemmed from Barrido’s signed affidavit where she claimed that in December 2016, she was brought to a room in the "Convent of Cannussian Sisters" and was not allowed to leave.
Barrido said she was later transferred to a convent in Quezon City. She claimed she was accompanied by Alejo, Sister Ling and a certain Olivia, who is supposedly a member of the staff of Vice President Leni Robredo.
She said that Trillanes had repeatedly called her, telling her she cannot leave unless she signs the affidavit.
“It is clear from the foregoing that herein respondents feloniously, maliciously and intentionally put the complainant under detention for 14 days in order to force her to do something against her will,” the PNP-CIDG said.
Trillanes: A clear case of harrasment
In a statement, Trillanes slammed the PNP's complaint as a clear case of "harrassment and persecution of Duterte against his critics."
The former senator said he never met Barrido, but he has information that the woman earlier volunteered to testify against the president.
"Ang impormasyon ko dyan ay isa syang nagboluntaryong mag testigo laban daw kay Duterte pero butas butas ang kwento at nanghihingi diumano ng pera kapalit ng kanyang salaysay kaya hindi tinanggap bilang testigo. Tapos ng hindi nabigyan ng pera, bumaliktad," he added.
(The information I received was that she was supposedly a voluntary witness against Duterte but her story has many holes, and she allegedly asked for money in exchange for her testimony, so she was rejected as a witness. Then, when she wasn't given money, she switched sides.)
Bribery claim vs Trillanes
This is not the first time that Barrido hurled accusations against Trillanes, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte.
In 2017, Barrido sought assistance from then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, claiming that she received death threats from Trillanes’ camp.
She also claimed that the former senator’s camp offered her P1 million to implicate President Rodrigo Duterte in the killings carried out by the Davao Death Squad, and to support testimonies of Edgar Matobato and Arthur Lascañas.
Sabio served as legal counsel of Matobato, man who has testified in the Senate that he was part of a hit squad that operated on Duterte’s orders.
Sabio and Trillanes are among the parties that called the International Criminal Court’s attention to alleged extrajudicial killings in the country under the Duterte administration.
Trillanes denied Barrido’s allegations and called her a “planted witness.”
Bikoy, sedition complaint
PNP-CIDG's kidnapping complaint came after they filed sedition raps against Trillanes, Robredo and other known opposition personalities.
Central to the PNP's complaint is the testimony of Peter Joemel Advincula, who claimed to be "Bikoy" of the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" video series.
READ: PNP files criminal raps vs Robredo, Trillanes, dozen others over 'Bikoy' videos
Advincula accused Trillanes and 30 others as the persons behind the anonymous video series linking the Dutertes to the drug trade, a supposed scheme to tarnish Duterte's reputation.
The PNP said that Barrido's affidavit "which was executed earlier than the complaint of [Advincula] has an impression of similar modus operandi to incite sedition."