Trillanes tells voters: Reject Duterte allies in 2019

Antonio Trillanes IV —EDWIN BACASMAS

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday vowed to campaign against President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies who are planning to run for office next year.

“Talagang mangangampanya ako sa lahat ng sasama sa kampon ni Duterte slate, tatawagin ko silang kampon ni Duterte…” Trillanes said at a regular forum in the Senate.

(I will really campaign against those who join the Duterte slate; I will call them the disciples of Duterte.)

“We will make sure na hindi na makakaulit itong grupo ni Duterte. Kung gusto niyong huminto itong mga nararamdaman niyo, nakikita nyo, kailangang i-reject niyo lahat ng mga kakampi ni Duterte,” he said.

(We will make sure that there will be no repeat from them. If you want to put an end to what you’re feeling, you need to reject everyone on Duterte’s side.)

But the senator did not say if he would also campaign against re-electionist senators who would join the administration slate next year.

“Let’s just stay that I will be actively campaigning for the opposition slate. Lahat ‘yun 12 so dun ako,” he said when pressed for a categorical answer.

The senators who are up for re-election in 2019 are Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Grace Poe, and Cynthia Villar.

Of the seven senators, only Aquino belongs to the minority bloc in the Senate.

Trillanes also claimed that based on their own internal survey conducted from June 13 to 15, Filipinos are already starting to reject the “Duterte brand.”

In fact, he said, the respondents rejected the possible senatorial bid of the President’s daughter, Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

“’Pag tinignan mo yung senatorial preferences nila, makikita mo nire-reject nila si Sara Duterte especially in Luzon,” he said.

(If you look at their senatorial preferences, you can see that they are rejecting Sara Duterte especially in Luzon.)

“That’s a very good indicator na ‘di na ito makakaulit (there won’t be a repeat of this), and [the] Duterte brand is being rejected by the Filipino people especially in Luzon, slowly in Visayas and slowly in Mindanao,” Trillanes added.

He said their survey is being conducted regularly to find out the people’s pulse on various issues. /je