‘The President must be a good person’

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - 9 years ago

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

“The primary and essential characteristic of a Philippine President is character, being a good person,” vice presidential aspirant Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said of his choice for the country’s top post in the May 9 election.

He’d rather not pick between Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said Trillanes who described Binay as a “lifelong thief,” and Duterte as not having “the personal discipline and skills” to head the country.

The senator, who instigated the corruption investigation against Binay in the Senate, said he’d “do everything” to prevent the former Makati mayor from winning the presidency.

“I am one-hundred percent certain that Binay will not change. He is a lifelong thief and being President will not change that,” Trillanes told Inquirer editors and reporters on Tuesday night.

“Right now I’m going to do everything I can to spare the Philippines a Binay presidency,” he added.

Trillanes has accused Binay, a former ally in the Arroyo administration, of pocketing millions of pesos in kickbacks from government projects when he was Makati mayor.

Richest man

“I believe he wants to be the richest man in the world at the expense of the Filipino nation,” Trillanes said.

The former rebel military officer said he has nothing against President Aquino’s chosen successor, Mar Roxas, but that Sen. Grace Poe, whom he had endorsed, was “better.”

Issues on Poe’s US citizenship and her alleged lack of residency to qualify for the presidency were “administrative” matters, Trillanes said, adding that her character was “more important.”

While Duterte may not be corrupt, the senator said the Davao mayor lacks the personal discipline and skills to be President.

“People associate Duterte with discipline. But how do you expect discipline from a guy who does not have discipline himself?,” Trillanes said, adding that Duterte was usually hours late during campaign sorties and would cancel appointments at the last minute.

Too taxing

“For someone like Mayor Duterte who sleeps early in the morning, (the presidency) will be too taxing. The management style on the local level will let you get away with that lifestyle. But on the national level, it’s hard. You cannot take things easy,” the senator said.

Trillanes also described the people around Duterte as “a (mix) of GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) people and some political rejects who are not inspiring.”

The senator called out Duterte for bragging about using extrajudicial methods against suspected criminals and for not giving specifics on how he would supposedly end the problem of illegal drugs and criminality in six months.

Davao City still has a high crime rate, Trillanes said.

The senator defended Poe’s decision to take up US citizenship and later reacquire Philippine citizenship to qualify for a position in government.

Fresh inputs

“People are taking it too literally. But (her US citizenship) was already undone when she took an oath again as a Filipino citizen,” Trillanes said. “The primary and essential characteristic of a Philippine President is character, being a good person,” he added.

“Binay never renounced his citizenship, but does he love the country? We should look at the character, that should be given primacy,” Trillanes said, adding that he believes the 47-year-old Poe will “provide fresh inputs and fresh ideas” since she is new in politics.

Running to win

Despite his vow to prevent a Binay presidency, the former Navy officer said he was not running for Vice President just to derail Binay’s campaign.

“I am running to win,” he maintained, adding that he hopes to replicate his feat in the 2007 senatorial elections when he won despite being in prison and lacking funds and election machinery.

“The challenges then were so much worse. I was detained. I did not have advertisements. I did not have access to media. My ratings then were so much lower. Now we are in a much better position,” he said. TVJ