Trillanes seeks dismissal of unexplained wealth charges against him

In a nine-page counter-affidavit, Navy Lieutenant senior grade Antonio Trillanes IV said yesterday the complaint filed by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. and a policeman against him for unexplained wealth should be thrown out because of many contradictions in the evidence presented.

Trillanes said that Lina and Chief Inspector Percival Rumbaoa can be charged in court for four crimes including false testimony against a defendant, perjury and incriminating an innocent person.

Rumbaoa accused Trillanes of acquiring eight vehicles beyond his lawful means, considering that he only receives a monthly salary of approximately P20,000. The charges were filed by Lina last Aug. 15.

Trillanes was held liable for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Government Officials (RA 7613) and Employees for concealing his assets.

Represented by lawyer and STAR columnist Argee Guevarra, Trillanes said the evidence presented by Rumbaoa against him "is not only dubious, it was obviously fabricated" and that "the entries contradict each other."

He said he acquired the vehicles "through my personal industry and soft loans from my family."

He also denied concealing the Nissan Terrano (UJW-717), which he said was a "conjugal property" with his wife Arlene Orejana.

He denied ownership of the 2001 Mitsubishi Pajero with license plate RIZ-222 and the 1995 Kawasaki big bike with license plate PH-6949. He said he never owned the vehicles.

He said the evidence on the Pajero was "manufactured" as records showed that the 2001 model turned out to have been registered in Jan. 2000 or "a year before it was introduced to the market."

As to why he failed to file his statement of assets and liabilities (SAL for 2001 and 2002), Trillanes said he was then on "study leave" because he took up masteral courses in public administration at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

"The circumstances of my deficiency in filing my SALs for 2001 and 2002 are akin and analogous to the situation of thousands of active combat duty servicemen who risk life and limb for months and even years in various far-flung territories of the republic who do not receive in time adequate logistical support from the general headquarters," Trillanes said.

As to the five Mitsubishi Delica vans he also allegedly owned, Trillanes claimed he is not yet obliged to declare three of them (XBF-574, WLU-445 and XBD-542) as they were purchased only in 2003.

"I am not under any obligation to declare the same in my SAL as the transactions materialized only after 2001 and 2002," he emphasized.

Meanwhile, the evidence on the two other Delicas (XBY-153 and CSL-319) were "palpably spurious" and should not be given any value by the Ombudsman probers, Trillanes said.

"Without a doubt, Rumbaoa seeks to impute wrongdoing on my end on the basis of his polluted, corrupted and fabricated evidence," he added.