Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Monday he is okay with the inclusion of former Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senator Richard Gordon in the Senate slate of presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo, saying he is on board as long as the mission is to ensure victory for Robredo in the 2022 polls.
Trillanes, Binay and Gordon were listed under the Senate slate of the tandem of Robredo and Senator Kiko Pangilinan alongside: Senator Joel Villanueva, Senator Miguel Zubiri, Senator Risa Hontiveros, Senator Leila de Lima, former Ifugao Representative Teddy Baguilat, Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero, human rights lawyer Chel Diokno and Alex Lacson of Kapatiran.
“I am not a member of the selection committee for the said Senate slate, but I was consulted with the inclusion of Binay and Gordon. Nag-express ako ng mga reservations pero sa huli ay sinabi ko na ipapaubaya ko sa kanila ang desisyon kung ano sa paniniwala nila ang pinaka-ikakabuti sa kampanya ni Vice President Leni (I expressed reservations, but ultimately, I told them that I defer to them in deciding what is best for Vice President Leni’s campaign),” Trillanes said in a statement.
“Magdalo’s number one mission ay ang pagpanalo ni Vice President Leni (is to make Vice President Leni win). Ganunpaman, walang magbabago sa mga kasong nililitis sa korte laban kay Binay at kasama pa rin si Gordon sa kaso sa ICC (Nevertheless, this does not change the pending court cases against Binay, and Gordon should still be included in International Criminal Court) [probe on the Duterte administration’s drug war],” Trillanes added.
Rifts with Binay, Gordon
During his previous stint in the Senate, Trillanes led a two-year probe into the alleged corruption of Binay and his son Erwin when the elder Binay was still vice president from 2014 to 2016.
In June 2019, the Court of Appeals ruled that Erwin Binay is guilty of serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service in connection with the construction of Makati Science High School building project, a project that was part of the Senate investigation led by Trillanes.
On the other hand, Trillanes had a heated exchange with Gordon in August 2017 when he accused the the latter of leading a Senate blue ribbon “committee de abswelto” for allegedly working to clear President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs which passed through the green lane of the Bureau of Customs.
Gordon and Trillanes filed ethics complaints against each other, but those did not prosper until Trillanes finished his second Senate term in June 2019.
Colmenares
Meanwhile, Trillanes said he has reservation on the inclusion of former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares in the Senate slate of the Robredo-Pangilinan tandem given that Makabayan members in the opposition coalition 1Sambayan have yet to endorse Robredo’s 2022 presidential bid.
1Sambayan has already pushed the candidacy of Robredo.
“Ang bottomline is, hanggang ngayon, hindi pa sila nagdedeklara ng suporta kay Vice President Leni. Alam namin ang kahalagahan ng pagkakaisa para sa tagumpay sa 2022. Hindi kami purists at exclusionary pero kailangan naman na ang mga makakasama natin sa lakbay na ito ay, at the very least, nag-pledge ng unconditional support muna kay VP Leni in case manalo siya bilang pangulo. (The bottomline is, they are yet to declare support for the presidential bid of Vice President Leni. We know how important unity is to ensure victory in 2022 polls. We are not purists and exclusionary, but we need our allies, at the very least, to pledge unconditional support for the Vice President in case she wins the Presidency),” Trillanes pointed out.
“Sa pagkakaalam ko, ginawa yan ng lahat ng mga isinama sa Senate slate. Hindi yan ginawa ng Makabayan (As far as I know, everyone included in the Senate slate did that. Makabayan didn’t),” Trillanes added.
In a separate interview with reporters, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate, a member of the House Makabayan bloc, said the coalition is an independent organization and Trillanes should not speak for them.
Zarate said the coalition and Robredo need to talk first to also discuss the platforms.
“Mahalaga sa amin na nagkakausap ang Koalisyong Makabayan at si VP Leni,” Zarate said. (It’s important for us to have discussions with VP Leni.)
“Wala pa ‘yung pormal na resulta ng pag-uusap but since there are already initiatives para matuloy ang paguusap with VP Leni, then we welcome that initiatives and we hope that it will result to a mutually acceptable agreement between Koalisyong Makabayan and grupo ni VP Leni,” he added.
(There’s no formal result yet on having talks with VP Leni but there are already initiatives and we welcome those.)
At present, the Makabayan coalition is still not declaring any presidential or even vice presidential candidate whom it will support in the coming elections.
“They have their own process, mayroon din kaming process, parte ‘yun ng democratic consultations… mahalaga sa amin magkakaroon ng consensus,” Zarate said.
(We have our own process. That’s part of democratic consultations. It’s important for us to have a consensus.)
Robredo earlier said that the process of including a 12th Senate bet is still ongoing, saying the said candidate will best represent the interest of the marginalized sector. — with Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News
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