Updated: 11:17 p.m., July 11, 2017
First published: 3:27 p.m., July 11, 2017
Malacañang on Tuesday said Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV “seems to lack a sense of humor,” following the senator’s request to expedite his proposed plunder probe against President Rodrigo Duterte for his “admission” to stealing government money.
“I think the senator seems to lack a sense of humor. It was said in jest, obviously,” Undersecretary Ernesto Abella, presidential spokesperson, said in a Palace briefing.
During his speech in the 140th anniversary of the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc. last June, Duterte mentioned about committing corruption.
“I hate corruption. Hindi ako nagmamalinis. Marami rin akong nanakaw pero naubos na, so wala na (I don’t pretend to be clean. I stole a lot, but they’re all gone),” he said.
In a statement sent to media on Tuesday, Trillanes said the investigation on Duterte’s plunder case should push through as his admission confirmed the senator’s corruption allegation against him.
READ: Trillanes pushes plunder probe after Duterte ‘admited’ corruption
“I have filed a case against him before the Ombudsman, along with the necessary evidence to support the case. This admission should be a reason to expedite the investigation,” Trillanes said.
‘Foolishness’
This was not the first time that Duterte or his men dismissed his statements as jokes.
He earlier admitted that only two out of every five statements were true. The rest, he said, are just jokes.
“Eh, sa limang salita, dalawa lang ‘yung tama niyan, ‘yung tatlo puro kalokohan ‘yan (Out of my five statements, only two are true, the rest are foolishness),” he said during the 115th anniversary of the Bureau of Customs last February.
BACKSTORY: 3 of 5 Duterte remarks ‘foolishness’
In a previous statement, Abella said that the chief executive should not always be taken seriously because he was naturally fond of making jokes.
“He (Duterte) can be quite humorous,” he said.
‘Hopeless’
In a speech before businessmen at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati City, Duterte called Trillanes as hopeless.
The President recalled how the senator claimed that he has over P200 million in undeclared wealth in the bank, which was carried out by media organizations critical to him.
“Naniniwala sila kay Trillanes, isa pang hopeless. P211 million. Sabi ko, ‘Hindi totoo ‘yan,” he said. –Winona S. Sadia INQUIRER.net trainee /IDL/rga/atm