Panelo: Trillanes peddling ‘tired narratives’ vs Duterte family

Vice President Sara Duterte’s spokesperson Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. on Saturday branded former senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s allegations against the Duterte family as “tired narratives,” accusing the former lawmaker of recycling claims that he has been making since 2016.

In a statement, Panelo said Trillanes had repeatedly raised allegations involving extrajudicial killings, illegal drugs, unexplained wealth, corruption and alleged links to China, which he dismissed as “exhausted lies” and “malicious fabrications.”

“Yet, the moment he was faced with the very first opportunity to test his wild claims against actual facts, verified records, and law through cross-examination by the Vice President’s defense team, Trillanes folded,” Panelo said.

“Instead of defending his claims under oath, he chose the comfort of a safe and scripted press conference where his lies could once again go unchallenged,” he added.

Trillanes has said he was ready to testify before the impeachment court and had been present when the prosecution was expected to present its witnesses. He questioned why the court did not issue him a subpoena.

“The signal is clear, hindi ako welcome,” Trillanes claimed during the press conference, while acknowledging that the decision was not necessarily a collective position of the senator-judges.

Panelo, however, maintained that Trillanes’ latest allegations were part of a pattern of accusations against the Duterte family.

He cited Peter Joemel Advincula, who used the alias “Bikoy,” as among those he claimed had previously supported allegations against the Duterte family but later disavowed them.

Panelo also invoked the late lawyer Jude Sabio, who had previously communicated with the International Criminal Court, and former police officer Arturo Lascañas, whose accounts concerning alleged extrajudicial killings linked to the Duterte administration have been disputed.

The Duterte spokesperson said these episodes demonstrated what he described as the weakness of Trillanes’ allegations.

Panelo also rejected Trillanes’ reliance on financial intelligence records, describing the AMLA documents as “highly unreliable” and lacking context.

Trillanes, in his briefing, said his allegations were supported by official documents and denied that he was making speculative claims.

“Lahat po yan ay backed up by official documents. Di tayo gumagawa ng kathang-isip na allegations,” Trillanes said.

Panelo also accused the administration of protecting individuals who have made allegations against Duterte and her family, citing Ramil Madriaga and Rodulfo Gracioso Jr.

He said Duterte could pursue legal action against Trillanes but suggested that the vice president’s camp had chosen instead to let the evidence in the impeachment proceedings speak for itself.

“Her defense team stands ready to refute whatever Trillanes accusation the prosecution believes is even credible enough for the Court’s serious consideration,” Panelo said.

Trillanes on Friday presented documents he said supported allegations that P150 million from the Chinese government went to the Tapang at Malasakit Foundation, which is associated with Duterte, while more than P319 million from Chinese government and corporate sources entered Cale88 Foods Corp., which he linked to Carpio.

The former senator also reiterated an earlier allegation that members of the Duterte family received a total of about P181.6 million in manager’s checks from businessman Sammy Uy, whom he identified as a drug lord.