Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—“It’s all about power for them.”
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday dismissed former Tarlac Representative Jose “Peping” Cojuangco Jr. and other people behind the calls for President Benigno Aquino III to step down as “characters” who just “want to get back into power.”
“Itong mga characters na ito, it’s all about power for them,” Trillanes said in an interview on Radyo Inquirer 990AM. “They are now excluded in the power circle. They want to get back into power.”
In a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Cojuangco, an uncle of the President, admitted on Tuesday that he was a part of the group pushing for change in the country’s leadership. He, however, denied that he wants it done through a coup d’état or a military takeover.
But Trillanes said he could see past Cojuangco’s “play with words.”
“He’s just playing with words. Sabi niya, wala siyang kinalaman sa coup d’état, pero what they’re working on is a people power because he wants the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), the organization, to move as one. Ano ba, ano ba talagang nangyari sa Edsa Dos?
“Edsa Dos is a power grab, a coup, a soft coup. Kumbaga, pwede mong sabihin a bloodless coup. Nakita niyo, siya mismo umamin na ganun ang pinplano nila,” Trillanes said.
(He’s just playing with words. He said he has nothing to do with the coup plot, but what they’re working on is a people power (revolt) because he wants the AFP, the organization, to move as one. But what did really happen during Edsa Dos? Edsa Dos is a power grab, a coup, a soft coup. You can say it’s a bloodless coup. You see, he’s the one who admitted what they really plan on doing.)
“Itong ngayon, ‘yung ginagawa nila (Right now, what they’re doing is), they’re trying to create that clamor that all sectors want the President to step down as a prelude d’un sa mga gusto nilang gawin later on. Yan ‘yung kanilang game plan (as a prelude for the things they are going to do later on. That’s they’re game plan),” Trillanes further said.
Reacting to Cojuangco’s comparison of what happened during EDSA I and EDSA II to what is happening right now, Trillanes said he doubts Cojuangco and former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales’ plans will succeed, noting that the pervading moods during Edsa I and II are not present now.
“Objectively speaking, nu’ng umuugong ‘yung ganyang balita, we went around. Namulso naman tayo kung may konek siya sa taong bayan, sa ordinary man. Wala pang ganung environment na conducive para sa ganung exercise,” Trillanes said.
(Objectively speaking, when reports of their plans started to gain ground, we went around. We talked to people if the plan (to topple the Aquino administration) connects to the people, the ordinary man. But there is no environment yet that is conducive for that exercise.)
While Cojuangco and Gonzales have noted Aquino’s lapses during the botched Mamasapano operation which left 44 elite policemen dead, Trillanes said the people must see past that.
“It’s part of the package. Nuong pinili nila si President Aquino, dapat alam nila na may mga kakulangan, may mga character flaws ang tao. Pero, sino bang wala? Sino bang presidente ang hindi nagkamali,” Trillanes said.
(It’s part of the package. When they chose President Aquino, they should have known that he has his own shortcomings and character flaws. But who doesn’t? Which president did not make a mistake?)
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