FACT CHECK: Trillanes not cited in contempt by impeachment court

No credible reports or statements support the claim; the House’s lead prosecutor has also rejected calls for Trillanes to be cited in contempt for airing allegations against Duterte

AT A GLANCE

• Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been falsely claimed to be cited in contempt and facing possible arrest over his criticism of the Senate impeachment court regarding Vice President Sara Duterte's trial.
• No official contempt citation has been issued against Trillanes, and the calls for such actions originated from outside the impeachment court.
• The misleading videos claiming Trillanes' contempt have garnered significant views, but they misrepresent the situation and provide no evidence for their claims.

This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors.

Claim: Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been cited in contempt and faces possible arrest over his criticism of the Senate impeachment court in Vice President Sara Duterte’s trial.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Three separate videos carry versions of the claim.

The first, posted by “Pinas News Insider” on October 4, is titled, “Guilty ang hatol? (The verdict is ‘guilty’?) He should be cited in contempt and sent to Pasay City Jail – Jay Zonsa VP Sara Chiz.” It shows a photo of a press briefing by Senate impeachment court spokesperson Regie Tongol. 

The second, posted by “PoliTalak” on the same day, is titled, “Sen Chiz Escudero sumabog na sa galit; harapang tinapos si Trillanes. Wala ng takas, himas rehas na?” 

(Sen. Chiz Escudero exploded in anger, confronted Trillanes face to face, no escape, already behind bars?)

Text on its thumbnail reads, “Contempt na! Ikukulong na sa Senado! Bastos ka! Walang modo!” 

(Already in contempt! He’ll be jailed at the Senate! You’re rude! No manners.) 

The third, posted by “Pinas News Portal” and credited to “Banat By,” is titled, “Chiz galit na! Big ultimatum! Contempt na Trillanes!” 

(Chiz is already angry! Big ultimatum! Trillanes is already cited in contempt!)

Overall, the three videos have garnered more than 67,000 views and 2,900 likes as of writing.

The facts: No contempt citation has been issued against Trillanes, and there is no credible report that presiding officer Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero or the impeachment court threatened to jail him.

The misleading videos surfaced after Trillanes held a press conference on October 2, where he presented findings from his own investigation into Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, including claims that entities tied to the Vice President received hundreds of millions of pesos in funds from the “Chinese government and corporations.”

The former senator made these allegations after he was dropped from the prosecution’s witness list on October 1 upon his request.

Trillanes also took a swipe at Escudero, asking why he was not issued a subpoena for him to testify on charges of Duterte’s unexplained wealth. He said it was “clear” that he was “not welcome” at the impeachment court.

In response, Tongol called Trillanes’ claim a “baseless assumption.” Senate President Win Gatchalian and Senator Panfilo Lacson also clarified that the decision not to have Trillanes subpoenaed was reached by consensus among the senator-judges, not by Escudero alone.

The calls to cite Trillanes in contempt came from outside the impeachment court. Lawyer Jimmy Bondoc called for Trillanes to be cited for indirect contempt over his remarks against Escudero. But House lead prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro rejected the idea in an October 2 interview, noting that Trillanes is not a party to the impeachment trial and that his remarks were protected free speech.

Impeachment trial updates: On October 5, Escudero told the impeachment court not to be distracted by outside criticism, while acknowledging “high tensions” during the impeachment trial.

The House prosecution ended its presentation of evidence in Duterte’s trial on October 12, expressing confidence that the evidence could support her conviction. Meanwhile, Duterte’s defense panel will start the presentation of their evidence on November 9. (LIVE UPDATES: Impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte) – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com

Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated with a degree in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. 

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.