Sen. Trillanes Will Not Apologize For Calling Other Senators "Puppets" and "Cowards"

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he will not issue an apology regarding his statement calling senator members of the majority "puppets" and "cowards."

Sen. Trillanes, a known critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier said that the Senate has become a place of mere "puppets" because some of the senators refused to investigate the alleged abuses of the Duterte administration.

Senator Trillanes IV said his colleagues must not be overly sensitive to criticism because of the nature of their work.

Photo from Inquirer

"Why should I apologize for what I think is true? They may not like the language that I used but it won't deflect from the fact that what I said was my observation and what I believe was true," Senator Trillanes told the media in an interview.

He also added that the nature of their work makes them open for criticism.

"Mga political figures tayo dito eh. Huwag naman tayo masyadong maarte," Sen. Trillanes added.

In a statement made by Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III last week, an apology would be an "honorable way out" for Senator Trillanes.

Majority Leader Sotto issued the statement after Senator JV Ejercito raised the possibility of filing an ethics complaint against Senator Trillanes for the statement he made.

Other senators made their own remarks and comments regarding the issued statement by Senator Trillanes.

However, in a separate interview, Senator Angara believed that the senators should just "let go" of the issue.

"Kanya-kanya kaming pananaw dito. We are 23 senators. If he wants to insult his colleagues, that's up to him, di ba?" Angara stated, adding that he was not offended by the remarks of Senator Trillanes.

Angara further stated that he would "respect" possible actions to be taken by Senator Ejercito, which is to file an ethics complaint against Senator Trillanes.

 Senator Nancy Binay, for her part, said that she has stopped listening to such remarks made by Senator Trillanes. She even stated that listening to the statements of Trillanes will only be a "waste of time."

"Hindi na ko nakikinig kapag siya ang nagsasalita... Parang mas marami pang pwedeng pagtuunan ng panahon at dapat pakinggan," Senator Nancy Binay said.

Trillanes was one of the senators who led the Senate investigation on the alleged corruption case of Senator Nancy's father, former Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar Binay, and brother, former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, during the previous Congress.

Senator Trillanes also filed a plunder case against President Rodrigo Duterte, his archenemy in the Philippine Politics, regarding his alleged corruption activities.

Senator Trillanes, who had turned his back on Duterte after the latter rejected him as his running mate for vice president, filed a plunder case against the incumbent President Rodrigo Duterte before the Office of the Ombudsman on May 2016. The fentanyl-philic, president erstwhile mayor, was back then accused of having a leading role in the drama of the alleged mysterious wealth and hiring of more than 11,000 ghost employees.

Just recently, Sen. Trillanes appealed to speed things up for the plunder case he filed against Duterte after the latter made a joking statement that he, himself, committed corruption in the past.

Source: GMA News

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