Trillanes: No destabilization plot vs Duterte

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Sunday dismissed suggestions that Tindig Pilipinas’ signature campaign to pressure President Rodrigo Duterte to sign a bank waiver was part of an alleged destabilization effort to oust him from power.

Trillanes said no less than Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Eduardo Año earlier acknowledged that the military had not detected any destabilization moves against the government.

“The chief of staff himself said that they have not monitored anything like that. Same with the secretary of national defense. They have not monitored any recruitment in the ranks [for a coup],” Trillanes said in a radio interview.

“That’s being paranoid and it’s political persecution, but we will not be frightened,” he said.

Trillanes, who led the 2003 Oakwood mutiny against the Arroyo administration, said “destabilization” means recruiting soldiers to launch a coup against the government.

Educational drive

However, he said Tindig Pilipinas’ signature campaign was meant to be an educational drive and effort to collect signatures to pressure President Duterte to sign a bank waiver.

“My accusation against him is very serious—that billions of pesos went into his account. In the spirit of transparency, to prove or disprove that he is not corrupt, he should sign,” Trillanes said.

He said the campaign was also meant to educate the public about the issue, especially since the President had refused to sign a waiver and kept dismissing Trillanes’ allegations.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, for his part, dismissed Tindig Pilipinas’ claim that Duterte had become “paranoid and insecure,” saying the group was simply “spreading lies.”

“That’s their opinion and we don’t share it. We have been working closely with the President and we can assure you that his mind is sound. These sorts of comments from his detractors only take away attention from more vital issues of the state,” he said.

Spreading lies

“Tindig is spreading lies to push a selfish agenda but this will not weaken the resolve of the President to carry out what he promised to do: reduce crime and corruption, provide better services for the poorest of our people and raise the country’s international reputation by showing it cannot be cowed into accepting agreements against its best interests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Trillanes said Pulse Asia might have committed a mistake in its latest survey which showed that 80 percent of the public still approve of President Duterte.

Trillanes said the survey firm might have committed errors in its research work or its researchers might have been “compromised.”

Trillanes said in a radio interview that it was “impossible” that there was no change in public opinion about Mr. Duterte since June.