The statement of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV hoping that Senator Richard Gordon be kicked out of the Senate blue ribbon committee should be interpreted “with a grain of salt,” Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Thursday.
Pimentel cited the two lawmakers’ “personal strife” with each other.
“Alam naman natin na may ‘banggaan sila na personal’ ni Senator Gordon hence, we should interpret what Senator Trillanes says with a grain of salt,” he said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
In a briefing earlier, Trillanes said he wanted a change in Senate leadership, particularly seeing Gordon out of the powerful blue ribbon committee.
“Hindi ‘yan pwedeng mapunta sa isang tuta ni Duterte kasi magiging proteksyon ‘yan, gagamiting proteksyon ni Duterte (President Rodrigo Duterte),” the senator said.
“Whatever it takes mapalitan ‘yung blue ribbon committee chairman, if it takes mapalitan ‘yung Senate President, eh ‘di ganun. Pero kung papalitan ‘yung Senate President, tapos sya (Gordon) pa rin ang blue ribbon committee chairman, wala rin,” he added.
READ: Trillanes prays for Gordon’s ouster from blue ribbon panel
Trillanes has been wanting Gordon out of the committee due to the latter’s “monopolizing” of discussions during the inquiries into the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China which slipped past the Bureau of Customs.
READ: Trillanes wants Gordon out of committee
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