DAVAO CITY – Davao City first district Rep. Paolo Duterte welcomed on Wednesday, July 31, the drug smuggling case filed by former Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV against him.

REP. Duterte
"This is a welcome development, mas maganda ito dahil sa Korte ng Pilipinas ang pagdinig at hindi sa korte ng Facebook at utak ng isang trililing na sundalong kanin (It is better to bring the case to a court of the Philippines, not on Facebook and on the mind of Trillanes)," Duterte said in a statement.
Duterte said such move will allow him to address the accusations through the proper legal channels.
This, he said. ensures that the truth will prevail.
"I have always maintained innocence, and I am confident that the judicial process will clear my name," the lawmaker said.
Duterte emphasized that it is important to rely on legal institutions rather than resorting to trial by publicity or baseless allegations.

TRILLANES
"Please bear in mind that this is the similar case that Mr. Trillanes has made a fool out of himself when he presented his alleged evidences against me…as a mercenary," he said.
Duterte added that he is not surprised who Trillanes has once again fooled to fund this desperate attempt to peddle this baseless story to the Filipino people.
The lawmaker said he is also looking forward to the resolution of the libel cases he filed against the former senator.