Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and President Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
With only at least five “die-hard” senators, President Rodrigo Duterte could be ousted from his post should an impeachment complaint against him reach the Senate, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on Tuesday.
Trillanes, a known critic of Duterte, said the President should not be deceived by the loyalty of some senators, who were either trying to “humor” him or taking him for a ride.
“Alam ko for a fact, ‘yung iba siguro they are just trying to humor the President. Pinapaasa, pinapasakay o ginagamit for their purpose. ‘Yung iba talagang ano lang ‘yan naoobliga na pag inimbita ka ng Presidente na mag-dinner sa Malacañang e ‘di mag-dinner. It doesn’t mean na binenta mo na ang kaluluwa mo sa kanya. Hindi ganun,” he said at a press briefing in the Senate.
(I know for a fact, maybe some are just trying to humor the President— giving him false hopes, taking him for a ride or using him for their purpose. Some are just obliged when the President invites them to a dinner in Malacañang. It doesn’t mean that they already sold their soul to him. It’s not like that)
Before taking a break last week, 15 of 24 senators had dinner with the President in Malacañang. Trillanes, and five colleagues in the minority bloc—Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros — were not invited in the gathering.
The three others who were absent in the meeting were Senators Panfilo Lacson, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, and Gringo Honasan— all members of the majority bloc.
READ: Duterte seeks senators’ help with legislative agenda
Asked if his colleagues had expressed their sentiments in private, Trillanes said he would not comment further on it, except saying he knows the “pulse” at the Senate.
“At magugulat kayo kung ilan lang dito ang Duterte die-hard. Kumbaga kung magkakapitpitan man, sino lang ‘yung maiiwan sa kanya?” he said.
(And you will be surprised that there are only few Duterte die-hards here. When worse comes to worst, who would remain loyal to the President?)
READ: Trillanes sees ‘game-changer’ in impeach bid
Asked if the number of Duterte die-hards in the Senate could be less than five, Trillanes said: “Mga ganun (Something like that).”
“By this time alam ko na rin naman mag estima kung sino ‘yung para kanino, ‘yung tipong pitpitan na. Natural ngayon medyo ano pa, pag nasisinghot nila na…Firmly in control pa e talagang gumigitna-gitna na muna ‘yung iba pero ‘pag nagbago ang ihip ng hangin…”
(By this time, I already have an estimate on who is loyal to whom when the worse comes to worst. It’s only natural that they are still examining the situation. If they sense that he is still firmly in control, they naturally stay neutral, but things will change once the situation becomes different.)
So if the impeachment complaint reaches the Senate, Trillanes was almost sure that the verdict would be against the President.
“Oo, talagang without a doubt masesentensyahan ‘yan kaya gusto nilang ipitin sa House (yes, without a doubt, he will be convicted so they want to derail it in the House),” the senator added. IDL/rga
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