A news clip posted on Facebook saying the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group charged former senator Antonio Trillanes IV with kidnapping and serious illegal detention is circulating online. This is misleading. The trimmed news clip was from 2019.
The 14-second video was uploaded on Apr. 29 but continues to gain traction. It shows a news anchor saying:
“Sinampahan ng PNP CIDG ng reklamong kidnapping at serious illegal detention sa DOJ si dating senador Antonio Trillanes IV. Kasama rin sa mga inireklamo ang paring si Father Albert Alejo. (The PNP CIDG has filed charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against former senator Antonio Trillanes IV before the DOJ. Also included in the complaint is Father Albert Alejo.)”
The footage included overlaid text that read:
“TRILLANES
“sinampahan DAW”
Yan bagay Yan sayu
BACK TO YOU
(TRILLANES
“reportedly charged”
Serves you right
BACK TO YOU)”
This is misleading. No new charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention have been filed against the former senator. The video was extracted from a news report by ABS-CBN TV Patrol back on Aug. 30, 2019.
The original video details a complaint filed against Trillanes and three others in 2019 by one Guillermina Barrido from Davao del Norte who alleged that she was kidnapped and detained by the accused in December 2016, which the former senator had denied.
The FB reel circulated amidst former president Rodrigo Duterte’s case in the International Criminal Court and the ongoing impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, both of which Trillanes supports.
Since its posting, the video has garnered over 3 million views, 37,000 reactions, 5,900 comments and 5,100 shares.
Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a journalism student of the University of the Philippines Diliman as part of their internship at VERA Files
