Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go challenged chief critic of President Rodrigo Duterte Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to a one-on-one in any manner that the senator chooses as the senator continues his attacks against Mr. Duterte.

Trillanes also keeps on insisting Go is intent on seeking a Senate post, but Go said he is not yet decided on a congressional run.

Go issued the challenge on his birthday yesterday as former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte indicated a plan to file criminal and civil complaints against Trillanes for linking him to the controversial P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China that was smuggled into the country last year.

Asked by reporters if the one-on-one challenge he hurled at Trillanes would be “physical” or in the basketball court, Go, who is an avid basketball fan and tours the country playing the game, said it is up to Trillanes to decide on the manner of their joust, adding he is ready to face the senator.

Trillanes made the allegations on Duterte and the President’s son-in-law Manase Carpio during a Senate hearing last year.

Paolo said charges will be filed against Trillanes for “viciously destroying my name, maligning my reputation and integrity, and for deliberately manufacturing lies and spreading black propaganda against me.”

He noted Trillanes made the allegations “with a view to impacting negatively against our beloved President,” adding the senator’s parliamentary immunity does not extend to the alleged libelous remarks he made during media interviews and outside of the Senate inquiry.

The younger Duterte in December also lodged a civil damage suit against Trillanes over the latter’s claims that the former local official was involved in graft and corruption.

He resigned as Davao vice mayor on Dec. 25, 2017 out of delicadeza, citing “recent unfortunate events in my life that are closely tied to my failed first marriage.”

Go said Trillanes was a delinquent member of the Senate in terms of attendance in the chamber.

“He is always absent. Do you know why? He spends his time looking for faults in the government but he can’t find any. So he now says anything that can hurt the government. He always seeks attention,” he added.

He said Trillanes needed attention since he is in the twilight of his term as senator.

Go was at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) to give a P1 million donation for the treatment of children afflicted with cancer.

“We in the administration, our only interest is to work and look for ways to help our brother Filipinos. What we provide comes from the government so don’t thank us. The government of President Duterte is always for the helpless and the hopeless. Just approach our office, it is always open to Filipinos,” he added.

Paolo said the charges to be filed against Trillanes include the maligning of his reputation when the President’s son’s name was supposedly name-dropped in the Bureau of Customs smuggling case and Trillanes’ “very public squabble with my daughter.”

“The other person in this failed relationship is incorrigible and cannot be controlled and I take responsibility for all that has happened as a result of a wrong decision to marry at a very young age,” he said in a statement.

The shabu shipment controversy sparked a Senate inquiry on how the shipment came to the country and who were the people behind the illegal shipment. Trillanes grilled Paolo when he attended the said hearing.

Trillanes showed at the Senate hearing photos of the younger Duterte with Kenneth Dong, an alleged middleman who supposedly facilitated the multibillion-peso shabu haul at the Port of Manila in May 2017.

The senator also alleged the President’s son has a tattoo on his back which will prove that he is part of the “triad,” which is an international crime syndicate operating in the Asian region. The younger Duterte refused to show his back during the hearing invoking his right to privacy.

Paolo earlier had labelled the accusation of Trillanes as pure lies and based entirely on gossip and, worse, as part of desperate black propaganda against the President and his government.

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