By Armando Fenequito Jr. and Ivy Tejano DAVAO CITY - President Du­terte’s staunch critic Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV pleaded not guilty of libel in the four cases filed against him by presidential son Paolo Duterte and brother-in-law Manases Carpio at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 54 here Tuesday morning. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (MANILA BULLETIN) At the same time, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Davao City has rejected the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) re­quest for a hold departure order against Trillanes. Trillanes stated his plea before RTC Branch 54 Judge Melinda Alconcel-Dayanghirang during the arraignment of his case. Reporters were not allowed to wit­ness the proceedings due to the small space of the court. Trillanes said the cases filed against him are mere harassments by the ad­ministration to silence its critics. “Pero, nandirito ngayon ako sa Davao para harapin ito. Para pakita natin na hindi natin tinatakbuhan o tinatalikuran ang mga ganitong hamon (But, I am here in Davao to face this to show that I am not turning my back on challenges like this),” he said. The senator said his legal team will not seek the transfer of the trial in Metro Manila courts as a respect to the local court. “Nag-volunteer na nga ako na magpa-arraign ngayon kahit we had the option na hindi magpa-arraign muna to demonstrate that we recognize the authority and jurisdiction of the Davao court (I volunteered now to be arraigned even if we had the option not be arraigned to demonstrate that we recognize the authority and jurisdiction of the Davao court),” he said. Trillanes said the cases will not make him stop being a critic of the ad­ministration as long as he sees abuses by the government. The senator said he will return to Davao to face trial. Paolo Duterte’s legal counsel Atty. Ranier Madrid warned Trillanes that if he will accuse his client again, he will not hesitate to file another libel case against him. The cases stemmed from an inter­view of Trillanes over DYAB Cebu tel­eradyo on September 8, 2017 wherein he dragged the names of the presidential son and Carpio on the extortion fran­chise issue of Uber and claimed that they conspired with Land Transporta­tion Franchising and Regulatory Board 7 regional director Ahmed Cuison. These also include Trillanes’ inter­views with DZMM and CNN Philippines accusing the presidential son as the drug lord who worked on the R6.4 bil­lion shabu shipment at the Bureau of Customs. Flight risk In a decision on December 14, 2018 penned by Presiding Judge Melinda Alconcel Dayanghirang, of the RTC Branch 54, said Trillanes is not a “flight risk.” Trillanes, Dayanghirang said, upon the issuance of four arrest warrants against him for libel, voluntarily placed himself under court jurisdiction by posting bail. The court decision said the immedi­ate voluntary surrender of the accused to the court upon his knowledge from media accounts of the warrants of ar­rest issued against him indicates that the risk of his flight or escape from his jurisdiction are highly unlike. “His voluntary surrender and plac­ing himself under the jurisdiction of the court is a demonstration of his utter respect for the legal processes of this country,” the decision said. Dayanghirang said the senator’s recent travel from Dacember 11 to January 11 was supported by Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s travel authority. She added that Trillanes’ upcoming travel to the United States on January 27 to February 10 is also covered. The said trips or engagement abroad of Trillanes, Dayanghirang said, were planned and scheduled a long time before the filing of the instant cases against him.