Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano traded insults anew on Monday, with the latter saying that he would not “retreat” from his erstwhile friend.
The exchange between the two came after Trillanes delivered a privilege speech asking the Senate to look into the alleged “direct” involvement of President Rodrigo Duterte in the more than 1,000 people allegedly killed by the Davao Death Squad.
READ: Trillanes seeks Duterte probe
After Trillanes’ speech, Cayetano stood up to interpellate his colleague.
But after answering some of questions, Trillanes complained that Cayetano was not debating him but was delivering a “monologue.”
“The gentleman is saying that this is a debate but it has been a monologue since around 4:20, I’m confused now. He started with the masking tape, he jumped to his parlor, whatever then to Senate President (Blas) Ople. Where is the debate?” Trillanes asked.
“I’ll show him where the debate is. The debate is when I ask him a question but he keeps answering me na motion na (that it’s time for a motion),” Cayetano said.
“I don’t think its parliamentary feasible for one senator to stand up and expect na wala na lang magtatanong (that no one would ask questions) and we just take their statements hook, line and sinker. Having said that, I apologize for my style, kanya kanyang style kasi iyan (each senator has his or her own style),” he added.
Trillanes again explained why he was pushing for a Senate probe of Duterte.
“I’m not here to oust anybody, well not yet at least. But I’m just here proposing to investigate a very serious matter and I believe the gentleman has a bottomless spit of wisdom and I’m going to concede that he’s even wiser than me many times over but again let’s get to the point,” he said.
“But if the gentleman keeps on saying that I would want to run away, if he’d recall when I sat beside him during the hearing, he was the one who ran away. Now unless you want me to go near you again, just say so,” the senator added.
Trillanes was referring to his controversial “hindi kita papopormahin” remark during one of the hearings of the Senate committees on justice and human rights, and public order into the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country.
He since then apologized to Cayetano for his remark and for turning the latter’s microphone while he was grilling a self-confessed assassin, Edgar Matobato.
READ: Trillanes apologizes to Cayetano for ‘uncalled for’ demeanor
“For the record, kaibigan ko sya, ba’t nya titingnan ang mata ko nang ganun? Para nya akong kakainin nung sinabi nyang di kita papopormahin dito.. Hindi ko na sinabi sa media pero sabihin ko na rin ngayon dahil brining up nya—sabi nya sa akin, ‘Pa-Bible Bible ka pa, evil naman ang pino-protektahan mo (he’s my friend, so why would he look at my eyes like that? It seemed like he would swallow me when he said he won’t allow me to speak up. I didn’t tell the media but I would tell it now since brought it up—he told me, “You have been citing the Bible, yet you’re protecting the evil). But for the record, anywhere, anytime, hindi kita aatrasan e (I won’t back down),” Cayetano said.
“That’s why umurong ako away from you dahil ayaw mo akong tigilan. Tina-trash talk mo ako, ayaw kong magkaabutan tayo dahil ang pagkaalam ko para tayong magkapatid at magkaibigan tayo. (Now you’re telling me) lalapitan mo ako dito. Lapitan mo ako, yayakapin, yayakapin kita pero lapitan mo ako na hamunin mo ako hindi kita aatrasan.”
(That’s why I retreated away from you because you didn’t want to stop. You have been trash-talking me, I don’t want us to clash because as far as I know, we are brothers and friends. Now you’re telling me that you will approach me here. That you will approach and hug me, I would hug you but you will approach me, challenging me, I won’t back down.)
Cayetano lamented why they could not be friends just because they have different opinions on the President.
To this, Trillanes said, “Does the gentleman sense any animosity in my tone of voice? I believe I am at my calmest, relatively speaking, this could be one of the best behaviors that I ever had in this chamber.”
At that point, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III suspended the session. RAM/rga
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