National Security Adviser Eduardo Año on Wednesday filed cyber libel and perjury complaints against 18 alleged former Marines and their lawyer, Atty. Levito Baligod, before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Año, accompanied by his legal counsel Atty. Ruel Mendoza and the NSC legal team led by Atty. Sheena Marie Lopez, went to the DOJ to formally lodge the complaints.
The cases stem from a joint affidavit submitted by the individuals, in which they claimed to have delivered large sums of cash from a former congressman to several personalities. The affidavit implicated Año and other high-ranking officials following meetings with former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“I want to make it clear, wala naman akong pakialam doon sa mga ibang pinagsasabi nila. Doon lang ako concerned, doon sa malicious imputations and publications directed against me,” Año told reporters.
When asked what charges he filed, Año said he filed complaints for cyber libel and perjury. This comes on top of complaints he lodged last week against the same group for violations of Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code on unlawful utterances and publications.
“Last week, nag-file ako ng Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code as amended, unlawful use of news of publication and unlawful utterances. ‘Yung isa, yung unlawful publication, parang fake news,” he said.
Año explained that the new filing aims to determine who fabricated the contents of the joint affidavit, which included allegations against him.
“Nag-file ako nito para makita talaga natin kung sino yung nagsasabi doon ng fabrication. Dahil kasi joint affidavit yung ginawa nila eh. Pag tiningnan mo doon sa mga ginawa nila, bawat paragraph may sinasabing kung sino yung nakakita. Pagdating sa akin, wala eh. Joint affidavit. So malalaman natin kung sino yung nagpa-fabricate,” he said.
The NSC chief added: ”Sino din yung nagpadagdag ng pangalan ko doon. Obviously merong nagpadagdag ng pangalan ko doon to smear my name and to discredit the NSC as an institution.”
Año said that Baligod admitted publicly to manipulating the affidavit’s contents, which his legal team considers perjury.
Año said he knows two individuals who were responsible for adding his name to the accusations.
Regarding the motive behind adding his name, Año said, “Well, sabi ko nga, to weaken, to discredit the NSC as an institution and of course to smear my name. Malalaman natin yan kapag tumakbo na yung kaso at isa-isa na silang ipatawag at ma-issuean ng warrant thereafter. So malalaman natin lahat ng katotohanan kung bakit nila dinagdag yung pangalan ko doon.”
The National Security Adviser also clarified that he had no involvement in the arrest of the former President. Before being appointed NSC chief in January 2023 under the Marcos administration, Año served as Interior Secretary from 2018 to 2022 under former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I have to protect my name. I have to defend my honor. I served the armed forces for 38 years. At kahit isa mang anumang kaso diyan about corruption or moral turpitude or whatever, wala akong kinasangkutan diyan,” he said, adding that he was also not involved in flood control projects or the Internaional Criminal Court (ICC) case mentioned in the affidavit.
When asked about current security concerns, Año said the NSC is monitoring potential destabilization threats amid the current political climate.
“Binabantayan natin 'yan [destabilization]. Pinagtitingnan natin 'yan. Ang ating mga intelligence community ay naggagawa ng investigation. Kasi nakakapagtaka bakit sabay-sabay yung ganitong mga pangyayari” he said.
