Former senator and staunch Duterte critic, Antonio Trillanes IV, has pointed fingers at individuals “closely allied” with former President Rodrigo Duterte, accusing them of orchestrating a clandestine campaign to agitate soldiers and destabilize the current Bongbong Marcos administration.
Trillanes, known for his bold stance against the Duterte regime, claims to have a well-connected network and “classmates” within the military, asserting in an interview with Karen Davila of ANC that Duterte and his allies “have the motivation to get back to power, and they have the opportunity.”
“In fact, as it is, the daughter of the former president, Vice President Sara Duterte, is the constitutional successor. So whether it’s through resignation, impeachment, withdrawal of support, people power, coup d’etat… All of these things are on the table for Mr. Duterte so that he could get back into power,” he said.
The former senator, who gained national prominence during the failed 2007 coup attempt known as the Manila Peninsula siege, asserted that the Marcos administration is reluctant to acknowledge the destabilization efforts “publicly because it will hurt the image of the country.”
Trillanes, who plans to run for local office as mayor in Caloocan City, outlined various motivations behind Duterte’s alleged destabilization efforts, stating, “Primarily, it’s because of the breakdown of his criminal enterprise.”
“Member of this criminal syndicate are now on the run. People like Mr. [former director-general of the Bureau of Corrections Gerald] Bantag, [expelled representative Arnie] Mr. Teves, the 18 police coroners and generals who are now facing charges of illegal drug trading. So all of these are part of the Davao group. And he needs to protect them otherwise they’d start pointing at him as the godfather of this criminal enterprise,” Trillanes claimed.
Highlighting the seriousness of the accusations, Trillanes revealed that his military sources indicate the destabilizers “haven’t gone past the agitation phase.”
He cited that issues close to the hearts of the armed services, such as the fixed-term law demoralizing senior officers, are being exploited by Duterte and his allies.
Referring to Republic Act No. 11709, designed to ensure a three-year tenure for high-ranking military officers, Trillanes explained how it led to the mass resignation of officials in January last year, causing some destabilization.
He noted, however, that this law was corrected through an amendment (RA 11939) following grumblings within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Another internal issue, the military and uniformed personnel (MUP) pension reform, was exploited to “agitate the rank and file by saying that this new law will be the cause in the reduction of their initial pay, which was true initially but then it was corrected.”
The third issue centers around the “peace talks with the NPA,” with Trillanes accusing pro-Duterte elements of fanning the flames of agitation.
When pressed to name the agitators, Trillanes intriguingly offered to share the information off the record, asserting that these individuals have already been identified and are actively involved.
In a separate development, retired Brigadier General Johnny Lacsamana Macanas, facing cybercrime law charges, claimed in a YouTube video that those aiming to oust President Marcos are “in the planning stage,” predicting “something bad would happen” to President Marcos in the second quarter of this year.
- [Editor’s note: The phrase “Something bad will happen” is a direct translation from Macanas’s statement, “may masamang mangyari…”]
Former President Duterte, however, vehemently denied any knowledge of destabilization efforts against the current administration during a recent press conference.
He urged peaceful initiatives for reforms and distanced himself from any insinuations.
“Our country must have continuity, must have stability not only for us but for our children,” Duterte said.
Trillanes countered Duterte’s denial, stating that it came after the alleged plot fizzled out.
“They were expecting this rumor about the video of the president using ‘polvoron’, which is their code for cocaine, would snowball into something big but it didn’t so he had to backtrack and leave his people hanging in the air.”
Duterte, according to Trillanes, was himself engaged in agitation last year with his call for civil disobedience by not paying taxes and for the armed forces to conduct a financial audit on the House of Representatives.
In a cautionary note, Trillanes described Duterte as someone who would “say anything he wants” to pursue his agenda and protect his interests.
One of Duterte’s major motivations, according to Trillanes, is the impending International Criminal Court (ICC) case, with a warrant of arrest expected in the first half of the year.
“He knows that the warrant of arrest is right around the corner and he’s going everything to prevent that from happening,” he added.
With regard to the ICC, Trillanes reiterated his earlier claim that the investigation is “practically over” and that the issuance of the warrant of arrest against Duterte and his co-accused “may happen during the first half of the year.”
“Duterte knows this,” he added.
The Daily Netizen 