ETHICS CASE VS ANTONIO TRILLANES FILED AT SENATE

An ethics complaint has been filed at the Senate against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on Tuesday.

While he has yet to read the entire complaint, Sotto said it mentioned about Trillanes’ allegation two years ago that two Court of Appeals justices had allegedly received P25 million each to stop the suspension of then Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.

The complaint also mentioned Trillanes’ “murderer” tag on President Rodrigo Duterte, said Sotto, who chairs the Senate committee on ethics.

He said the complaint was filed by lawyer Abelardo de Jesus, the same complainant in the ethics cases lodged against detained Senator Leila de Lima.

“I have not read the entire complaint yet and I have no intentions of distributing copies yet to the members of the ethics (committee) kasi baka magbago membership ko e (because my membership might change)…” Sotto told reporters.

The Senate has just reorganized its leadership with Liberal Party senators bolting to the minority group after they were stripped of key positions in the chamber and its committees.

Trillanes, known critic of Duterte, was unfazed when told about the complaint.

“Sige lang, sige lang. Gawin na nila lahat (They can do everything they want). Bring it on. Game ako dyan, handa ako dyan hindi ako natitinag dyan (I’m prepared for it, I won’t be scared),” he said in a separate interview.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life kaya hindi ako basta-basta natitinag sa mga ganyan (so I won’t be scared of these things),” said the senator.

Sen. Richard Gordon dismissed Trillanes as someone who craves attention.

Trillanes said he would welcome any ethics complaint filed against him.

“But here’s the thing, if Senator Ejercito believes that my statement that the Senate is becoming a lapdog of the Duterte administration is highly offensive yet sees nothing wrong with Duterte” he said.

Trillanes earlier hit his colleagues from the majority, who he said have refused to investigate issues hounding Duterte, which shows the Senate has failed to fulfill its role as the “last bastion of democracy.”