Former president Rodrigo Duterte and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. (File photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — While the Dutertes’ supporters have dwindled in size, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV reminded the current administration not to be complacent — as the goal is not to let members of the family return to national politics.
In an ambush interview on Wednesday, at the sidelines of the House of Representatives’ quad committee hearing, Trillanes was asked about former president Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge to the military — that they protect the Constitution and the country from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Trillanes said only a small percentage of the military institution is supportive of Duterte, and they are not willing to risk their careers for the former president’s family.
“Ngayon doon sa effect no’ng panawagan na ‘yon, ako ang advice ko sa autoridad ay wag mag-kumpiyansa. Kailangan siguraduhin na walang makukuha na mga officers itong mga Duterte, kasi malaking problema ‘yan. Kaya kailangan, ano lang, continuous monitoring,” Trillanes said.
(Ngayon with the effect of that call, my advice to authorities is to refrain from being complacent. We need to ensure that the Dutertes would not attract officers, because that will be a big problem. That’s why we have to do continuous monitoring.)
“Pero ako naman, based do’n sa monitoring din namin, hindi naman marami, kun’di merong may simpatya kay Duterte, pero to actually risk their lives, freedom, and their careers para sa kanya, I seriously doubt that at this point,” he added.
(But based on our monitoring, those who sympathize with Duterte are not that many, there are some who support him, but to actually risk their lives, freedom, and their careers for him, I seriously doubt that at this point).
“Siguro mga less than five percent, and mainly mga […] junior officers with ranking. Mga senior officers so far are solidly behind the president.”
(Maybe less than five percent, and mainly junior officers with ranking. But the senior officers so far are solidly behind the President.)
Trillanes issued the same sentiments regarding the call for Duterte’s supporters to assemble at the Edsa People Power Monument — noting that this has also happened before, with the Second Edsa People Power revolution in January 2001 that forced then- president Joseph Estrada out of office.
“‘Yoon, sabi ko nga ‘wag nating maliitin kasi any political crisis na mangyari, pwedeng i-take advantage ‘yan. Kasi nangyari na ‘yan, we saw that happen sa Edsa Dos, nagsimula nang maliit, walang pumapansin, kumpyansa ‘yong administrasyon, very popular, but after a few months, tanggal,” he said.
(As I said, let us not underestimate these moves because any political crisis that may happen, they can take advantage of that. It has been done, we saw that happen at the Edsa Dos, it started out small, nobody paid attention, the administration was confident, very popular, but after a few months, it was ousted.)
“So kailangan mag-matiyag, bottomline hindi na dapat makabalik sa puwesto itong mga Duterte kasi malaking perwisyo ang ginagawa nito sa bayan,” he added.
(So we need to be vigilant, bottomline is the Dutertes should no longer return to power because they have brought big problems to the country.)
On Monday night — after his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte was heavily criticized for her threats against key government officials — former president Duterte asked the military if they could continue protecting Marcos even if he is supposedly a drug user.
Duterte’s call for the military to act was criticized by many active government officials, including Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Nueva Ecija 3rd District Rep. Ria Vergara, as it would only benefit the Vice President.
The Vice President stirred controversy after visiting Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, her chief-of-staff who was detained at the House premises, and later stayed inside the office of her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte.
Due to the security problems that came with Duterte staying inside the Batasang Pambansa, the House committee on good government and public accountability decided to transfer Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women.
After this, Duterte held a press briefing early Saturday morning, where she badmouthed Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
In the same briefing, the vice president also claimed that she has already tasked someone to assassinate the three in case she gets killed.
Duterte’s outburst came after the said House committee continued its investigation of issues involving confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), amid several observations from the Commission on Audit.
Last Monday, it was revealed at the panel’s hearings that the special disbursing officers of OVP and DepEd left the disbursement of confidential funds to security officers — a move that 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez believes can be tantamount to technical malversation.