A photo showing former senator Antonio Trillanes IV supposedly wetting his pants following his arrest during the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege is circulating online. This is fake.
On Nov. 14, the altered photo of Trillanes being dragged by the belt by one of the policemen was shared on Facebook (FB), mostly through Reels. He can be seen with wet pants as encircled in red. The Reels bore the text:
“Abay ang tapang nya (sic) kagabi! Nakalimutan nya ang eksenang ito na nagkalat sa socmed (He’s so brave last night! He forgot this scene that is circulating on socmed).“
A reader also sent a screenshot of the photo through the VERA Files Messenger misinformation tip line on Nov. 17 seeking verification of the image.
The photo is edited. Trillanes did not wet his pants in the original image.
The photo is not new but resurfaced a day after the former senator told the House of Representatives’ quad committee hearing that the drug war of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte was a coverup to protect a drug syndicate. He also bared what he said were bank accounts of the Dutertes showing deposits from an alleged drug lord.
On Nov. 3, 2018, photojournalist Ver Noveno uploaded a copy of the photo on FB with this caption:
“I took this photo last 11-29-2007 during Manila Pen Siege Sen. Trillanes being taken by Gen Barias. Vernovenoimages.”
Footage from the AP Archive’s YouTube channel also shows a copy of the People’s Journal issue that ran the same photo.
In 2018, The Philippine Star also published on X (formerly Twitter) an image of the same arrest scene taken from a different angle. Trillanes had dry pants in the photo.
The former Philippine Navy officer was charged with rebellion on Nov. 29, 2007 for leading the Manila Peninsula siege but was granted amnesty in 2010. In 2003, he and some 300 junior officers staged a revolt to protest alleged corruption in the military.
The manipulated photo has been circulating since 2020. It gained traction a day after Trillanes attended the Nov.13 House quad-comm hearing, where he asked Duterte to sign a bank secrecy waiver. This triggered a minor disruption which led to a brief suspension of the hearing.
Three FB reels uploaded from Nov. 14 to 16 amassed 242,000 reactions, 6,573 comments, 11,555 shares and 1,864,000 views.
