VP’s camp blasts Trillanes’ stale tale

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s allegations against the Duterte family were “tired narratives,” Vice President Sara Duterte’s spokesperson, Atty. Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., said Saturday, accusing the former lawmaker of recycling claims he has made since 2016.

In a statement, Panelo said Trillanes has repeatedly raised allegations of extrajudicial killings, illegal drugs, unexplained wealth, corruption, and 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 facts, verified records, and the law through a 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 was 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, I am not welcome,” Trillanes said 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 he has made against the Duterte family.

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

Panelo also invoked the late lawyer Jude Sabio, who had 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 spokesperson said these episodes demonstrated the weakness of Trillanes’ allegations.

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

Trillanes, in his briefing, denied making speculative claims, saying his allegations were supported by official documents.

“Official documents back all of these. We are not making up allegations or inventing anything,” he said.

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

Meanwhile, Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson pushed back against suggestions that impeachment court presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero alone decided against compelling Trillanes to testify in Vice President Duterte’s impeachment trial.