Trillanes getting “political gift,” not persecution, Palace says

September 26, 2018

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV loves the media mileage he is getting, a "political gift" of the administration and not "persecution," Malacanang said on Wednesday. In an interview by television network CNN Philippines, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said  Trillanes has accorded the correct process - from the voiding of his amnesty until he was arrested and posted bail before a trial court in Makati City. "That's not persecution. He loves it because he is now in the limelight. This is not political persecution. This is a political gift for him because we have given him the limelight," he said. Roque even claimed that based on their measurement, the amount of air time and news that were given to Trillanes was 80 percent, while "we get 30 percent by way of reply." "So, I don’t think anyone can complain about persecution, especially since it went through the correct process, it was decided by the courts and no one can dispute the integrity and independence of the courts in the Philippines," he stressed. Trillanes, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, has said that he has been politically persecuted. Duterte on August 31, issued Proclamation No. 572 voiding Trillanes' amnesty, which former President Benigno Aquino III granted. On Tuesday, a Makati court ordered the arrest of Trillanes for a rebellion case that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has revived. The court, however, allowed the senator to post P200,000 bail. Trillanes is facing a separate petition that the DOJ filed before another court in Makati for coup d'etat. Trillanes was among those soldiers who participated in the Oakwood and Manila Peninsula siege during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Celerina Monte/DMS