Trillanes to Duterte: Face drug allegations vs son squarely

MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday, April 5, challenged President Rodrigo Duterte to face the illegal drug allegations against his family squarely, as it would always come back to “haunt” him.

“Mr Duterte, the truth has finally come to haunt you. Nabibisto na ang mga pagpapanggap mo. Ikaw pala ang drug lord all along. Tsk tsk. Ang dami mong pinapatay na mga Pilipino para lang malinlang ang buong sambayanan. Pero, ngayon, harapin mo ‘yan. Kahit bumula pa bibig mo sa galit, babalik at babalik ‘yang issue na ‘yan sa mukha mo,” he said in a statement.

(Your days of pretending are about to end. You yourself are a drug lord all along. Tsk tsk. You had so many Filipinos killed just to fool the entire nation. But now, you have to face that. Even if you froth at the mouth in anger, that issue would always comes back to hit you in the face.)

Trillanes made the statement after Duterte accused him of being behind a viral video linking the President’s son, former Davao City vice mayor Paolo “Polong” Duterte, to illegal drugs. 

Malacañang had dismissed the video as black propaganda while Paolo said it was an “invention” of someone who had an ax to grind against Agriculture Undersecretary Waldo Carpio – the brother of presidential son-in-law Manases Carpio – who was also linked to drugs in the video.

The fierce Duterte critic lauded people behind the viral video, but he denied any involvement in it.

“Let me congratulate the people behind the videos that linked the Duterte family to illegal drugs! The accusations of the witness were very serious, quite pointed and well-explained. Having said that, I really wish I was part of the making of the videos so I could relish these moments but sadly I am not,” Trillanes said. 

Challenge to Duterte father and son

Trillanes said in his case, when the President claimed in a public address that the senator had secret offshore bank accounts, he went out of his way – in this case, all the way to Singapore – to debunk the claim. (READ: Singapore bank says it has no Trillanes account)

“When you falsely accused me of having offshore bank accounts, I confronted it squarely and didn’t stop until I was able to debunk your lies. And when you realized na napatunayan ko na hindi totoo ang mga paratang mo, umatras ka at inamin na inimbento mo lang ‘yun. Ano, ganoon na lang ‘yun? Until your next lie?” he said.

(And when you realized that I had proven your allegation to be false, you retreated and admitted that you just invented it. Is that it? Until your next lie?)

The senator also reiterated his long-standing challenges to the Duterte father and son. In the case of the President, he dared him to finally take up his nearly 3-year-old challenge to sign a bank secrecy waiver to prove that the Chief Executive did not have any undeclared wealth.

“Kaya ang hamon ko sa ‘yo, pumirma ka ng bank secrecy waiver para ipakita na hindi ka corrupt at hindi galing sa droga ang mga bilyon bilyon mo sa bangko (So my challenge to you is to sign the bank secrecy waiver so you can show that you’re not corrupt and that te billions in your bank account did not come from drug money),” Trillanes said.

The senator also renewed the challenge he had made to Paolo during a Senate hearing on the P6.4-billion smuggling of 604 kilos of methamphetamine or shabu into the Philippines in 2017.

“Ikaw naman Polong, ipakita mo na lang ang likod mo. Ang dami mo pang arte (And you, Polong, show your back. Enough with the stalling),” he said.

Trillanes had claimed that Paolo had a dragon tattoo on his back that allegedly proved his links to an illegal drug syndicate.

“Anu’t ano pa man, hindi talaga natutulog ang Diyos (Whatever happens, God does not sleep),” Trillanes said. – Rappler.com