Malacañang to Trillanes: Stop ‘smearing’ Duterte, face libel charges

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Malacañang to Trillanes: Stop ‘smearing’ Duterte, face libel charges
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo calls Senator Antonio Trillanes IV a 'perennial whiner' for saying that plunderers are being set free while critics are being jailed

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday, December 9, slammed Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, calling him “out of his wits” after he condemned the arrest warrants issued against him by a Davao City court. 

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo called out Trillanes for “attacking” President Rodrigo Duterte before the media instead of focusing on the libel complaints filed by the President’s son Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manases Carpio.

“His latest remarks prove once and for all that he is an incorrigible [rabble]-rouser and perennial whiner, a false accuser who, when hailed to court, cries like a baby reminiscent of staging a coup and surrenders instantly even without a gun being fired from the government forces,” Panelo said.

Judge Melinda Alconcel Dayanghirang of Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 54 had issued 4 arrest warrants against Trillanes, one for each libel complaint.

Trillanes, on Friday, December 7, denounced what he called “topsy-turvy” justice under the Duterte administration, citing the acquittal of former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr in relation to the pork barrel scam. He said plunderers are being set free, while critics are being jailed.

Panelo said the President’s fiercest critic should focus on legal remedies instead of “employing squid tactics and smearing the administration.”

Plan to post bail

National Capital Region Police Office Director Guillermo Eleazar confirmed that his office now has copies of the arrest warrants for Trillanes.

But he added that they are coordinating with the Senate regarding Trillanes’ plan to post bail on Monday, December 10.

“If the senator wishes to turn himself [in] to us, then we will get him from the Senate,” Eleazar said on Sunday.

Back in September, Trillanes was arrested for rebellion over the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege, after a Duterte proclamation sought to void his amnesty. The senator, a former soldier, posted bail of P200,000. (READ: INSIDE STORY: How Duterte handled Trillanes fiasco from Israel, Jordan)

Trillanes is the second opposition senator to be arrested following Senator Leila de Lima, another critic of Duterte, who was jailed over drug charges in February 2017. – Rappler.com

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