Philippine Senator Anotonio Trillanes

A self-proclaimed critic of the President, but also known to many as someone who just makes noises every now and then to try to smear the name of the President, even to the point of backing up every issue that would destroy the image of President Rodrigo Duterte.

He has supported the testimonies of self-confessed killers like Edgar Matobato and Arturo Lascañas just to pin down a political enemy. But even with the significant lack of evidence to back their claim and the whole case, the Senator still presents his alternative truth as the truth that the public should believe in. And I think this is where his problem really comes in; if you combine a made-up story and a Senator who is determined to destroy his enemies – but has failed to realize that he has long lost the trust of the people – what you will have is a self-destructing politician.

What you will have is a Senator who seems to continue to make a mockery of himself not in pursuit of justice or for the good of the people but for his personal agenda or vendetta.

Let’s take a look at some of Senator Trillanes’ statements in his interview in BBC’s ‘Hardtalk’.

While the Senator has agreed that what’s happening in Marawi city is a national crisis and is something that must be dealt with decisively, he also stated that Martial law is not the cure in dealing with the threat of terrorism. And in his own words, here is his “prescription”:

“To enhance the capability of intelligence community in our law enforcement agencies so that we can accurately pinpoint the terrorist cells without affecting the way of life of the public.”

Now, it seems that the Senator himself is arguing with himself because on one hand, he believes that a decisive action is necessary against Maute group, which President Duterte has done when he declared Martial law; but on the other hand, this Senator claims that Martial law cannot be used to deal with the threat of terrorism. Senator Trillanes believes in decisive action but questions the President back when he declared Martial law. Let me also point out that while the Senator’s “prescription” is something that must be taken into consideration to prevent another Marawi crisis, I don’t think it applies to what is happening in Marawi right now, because if the threat to the lives of the public is instant then we must also have an immediate solution to protect the people.

Just by taking a look at the strategy of President Duterte in dealing with the Maute group and what Senator Trillanes suggest we do to fight terrorism, it is evident which of the two public servants truly care for the public’s welfare; and it’s not the politician who seems to enjoy being an attack dog of a certain political party.

Another part of Senator Trillanes’ interview that’s worth noting is when he mentioned again a number that has long been disproved by the government when they presented the #RealNumbers. The Senator stated that the he does not believe that the war on drugs is working; adding that it only targets the poor people and that the running total of list of killed is already over 9,000. If we can remember, the government has already released the real numbers related to the war on drugs and it is far less than the number that was mentioned by the Senator, this alone shows that Senator Trillanes has been blinded by his own alternative fact. In the case of war on drugs not working and that it only targets the poor, so more than a million addicts and pushers surrendering to the government are not an achievement? So, the hundreds of millions worth of shabu being seized by the authorities are owned by a poor syndicate? So, is your political ally, Senator De Lima, part of the poor that’s being targeted by the government?

Lastly, the 75 percent approval rating of President Duterte shows that majority of the people support the action of the President. But since Senator Trillanes would not really acknowledge that the public is supporting the President he loathes, he pointed out in the interview the drop in the approval rating. Now, let me just leave you something to ponder on; for a Senator who has constantly pursued his personal agenda instead of the interest of the public, do you think he can do better than a 75 percent approval rating? If we let the public rate Senator Trillanes now, do you think he will even reach a 75 percent approval rating?