Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is unfazed by the criticisms being hurled at him for exposing alleged corruption in government, saying that he has gladly taken such role for the country's betterment.
In a 73-second video uploaded on his official Facebook and YouTube accounts, Trillanes--the staunchest critic of the Duterte administration--stood by his exposés, investigations, and complaints.
“Dapat ko bang itigil yung ginagawa ko? Syempre ‘pag batikos dun, batikos dito, mapapaisip ka, ‘Bakit ko nga ba ginagawa ito?’ Pero kung walang lalaban sa katiwalian sa gobyerno, walang magrereklamo, walang mag-e-expose sa mga corrupt na opisyal, anong mangyayari sa ating bayan (Should I stop what I am doing? Of course, when there are criticisms left and right, you will also think, 'Why am I doing this?’ But if no one will fight against corruption in the government, no one will complain, no one will expose the corrupt officials, what will happen to our country)?,” he asked.
Trillanes, chairperson of the Magdalo Party, said that’s when he started accepting that a lot of people will criticize him.
“Hahayaan ko na lang sila. Ang mahalaga ginagampanan ko ang aking tungkulin. Natutuwa nga akong makita na mas marami na tayo, lalo na ang mga kabataan—ang mulat sa katotohanan, nagrereklamo, lumalaban sa katiwalian (I will just let them be. What’s important is that I am fulfilling my duties. I am glad to see that there are a lot of us now, especially the youth—awakened to the truth, complaining, fighting against corruption),” the former senator added.
READ: Duterte and allies ‘straight to prison’ in 2022 — Trillanes
This is why he's hopeful that real change is coming.
“At ‘pag nangyari yun finally pwede kong sabihin (And when that time comes, finally I can say)—mission accomplished,” he said.
The Duterte administration is facing allegations of corruption in numerous agencies, the biggest one of which is the “deficiencies” found by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Department of Health’s (DOH) management of the COVID-19 funds. The said deficiencies amounted to P67.3 billion.
The bulk of this amount went to the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) that was formerly headed by a known associate of the President Duterte’s long-time aide and now Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.
READ: Trillanes links Bong Go's former aide to COA report on DBM-PS
Various public documents showed the connection between Duterte’s Davao Group and Pharmally Pharmaceuticals, a newly registered company that bagged more than P8 billion in government contracts for the procurement of “overpriced” medical supplies and equipment amid the pandemic.
The pharmaceutical company has ties to Davao-based businessman Michael Yang, who the President defended during Tuesday’s public address.
Aside from the allegation on the handling of the COVID-19 funds, the President also allowed casino operations on Boracay Island, a move that Trillanes questioned as early as 2018. He said the “real motive” was to expedite the construction of a casino there.