Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV dismissed the remarks made by newly-installed Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Jacinto Paras that he should drop his plans to seek a national post next year because Filipinos don’t consider him a serious candidate.
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“Mr. Paras is irrelevant and insignificant. It only shows that they can’t directly face the allegations against them. Iniiba ang usapan (Trying to change the subject),” he said in a Twitter post.
Trillanes is open about his plans to run as either president or vice president, and has accepted the nomination by opposition coalition 1Sambayan. He said he will only back down from plans to run as president if Vice President Leni Robredo wants to run instead.
Paras chided Trillanes for the allegations he hurled against President Duterte and his long-time aide, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, asking the public to ignore the former senator because he’s a “liar” and “dumb.”
But the former senator maintained that Duterte and Go are guilty of plunder.
READ: Trillanes inisists he has ‘airtight case’ against Duterte, Go
“Ang (The) bottomlime is, acc(or)d(in)g to COA docs, nag-award si Duterte sa company ng family ni Bong Go ng contracts (Duterte awarded to the company of Bong Go contracts) worth Ph 6.6 b(illio)n.Clear na Plunder yan (That’s clearly plunder),” he said.
Trillanes on Monday, July 5, alleged that he has documents from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Commission on Audit (COA) showing Go’s family’s construction business got P6.6 billion worth of government contracts despite it being prohibited in the law for close associates of an elected official to enter into government projects.
READ: Bong Go, family amassed P6.6 billion worth of gov’t contracts — Trillanes
Go already denied the allegations, saying these were rehashed from years ago. Trillanes, however, also said that he will file the appropriate cases against Duterte and Go once they are not in power anymore.
“Di kayang daanin sa palusot o bola ang kasong ito. Maliwanag ang mga dokumento frm COA: binigyan ni Duterte ang pamilya ni Bong Go ng (They cannot reason out from this case. It is clear in the documents from COA: Duterte gave Bong Go’s family) 184 projects amounting to P6.6B,” he said in another tweet.
“Plunder yan. Bistadong muli ang pangungurakot nila (That’s plunder. Their corruption has been discovered),” he added.
Trillanes has been the President’s staunchest critic since before he took office in 2016.