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Retired General Jose Almonte calls Sen. Trillanes “a patriot”

September 16, 2018

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Trillanes claims Duterte has an “ampaw presidency”

By Raïssa Robles

In October 2000 when Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson stunned everyone by saying that his close ally President Joseph Estrada received P290 million in jueteng money, I sensed a quickening in the political landscape.

I am not the only one who feel the same kind of quickening today. A stock market analyst told me he has noticed a similar uncanny march of events after President Rodrigo Duterte personally targeted Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Let’s face it. How many political enemies of a sitting President become the sole subject matter of a Presidential Proclamation?

It was because of this that I felt it was time to interview Senator Trillanes lengthily. To see what he was all about. Just as I interviewed in October 2000 the sitting Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. To see what she was all about.

It was in this spirit that I talked to Trillanes. I prefaced the interview – which I videotaped in full – with a warning that I ask the most tactless questions.

Today’s Newsmaker feature on him in South China Morning Post (HK) is but a portion of that lengthy interview, which could not be used in full due to lack of space. I will write the rest in my blog.

Among those I also interviewed for this piece was retired General Jose Almonte. I thought that being the right hand man of former President Fidel V. Ramos, he would be critical of Trillanes. After all, Ramos was a key supporter of Duterte to help him win the presidency. And Duterte publicly thanked Ramos for it during his 2016 presidential inauguration.

I was very much surprised that Almonte thought differently.

I will write about the rest of my interview with him later.

Meanwhile, here’s why Trillanes became this week’s “Newsmaker” of SCMP:

HOW TO CATCH A MUTINEER: THE PHILIPPINE SENATOR SPOOKING DUTERTE

Antonio Trillanes IV led a failed military siege on former leader Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2003. Now a vocal critic of the firebrand president, he may find himself back behind bars sooner rather than later

BY RAISSA ROBLES

16 SEP 2018

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is now Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s public enemy number one. Last week, the president ordered his arrest to face a military court for trying to unseat a former president when he was a 32-year-old navy lieutenant. But the officers sent to detain the 47-year-old senator were stopped by the Senate president because they had no arrest warrant.

Duterte’s action may have looked sudden but it wasn’t. A year ago, the president told the nation’s top businessmen that Trillanes “is bent on destroying me”. “So I destroy him or he will destroy me. That’s just the way it is,” he said.

Duterte wants to arrest Trillanes over the 2003 siege he led on Oakwood Premier Ayala Centre (now Ascott Makati), demanding military reforms and the resignation of president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The day-long Oakwood siege failed and Trillanes along with 323 soldiers who called themselves the Magdalo group surrendered and were jailed.

Trillanes was pardoned in 2010 by Duterte’s predecessor, president Benigno Aquino III. But Duterte, an Arroyo ally, revoked that pardon last week. The senator now is holed up in the Senate building in Manila. He said he tried to leave on Thursday but stayed after staff saw men on motorcycles following his official car.

Duterte revoked Trillanes’ pardon on the grounds his application form was missing; he never expressed guilt or apologised; and Aquino did not sign the amnesty papers. Trillanes is contesting all three grounds in court.

The hostility between Duterte and Trillanes is palpable. It started during the 2016 presidential campaign when Trillanes accused the former Davao City mayor of not declaring a secret hoard of 211 million pesos (US$3.9 million). Duterte shot back, calling Trillanes “ambitious” because he had earlier offered to be the would-be president’s running mate.

Duterte has a history of getting rid of his critics.

To read the rest, please click on this link.

Tagged With: former President Fidel Ramos, military coups, Philippine military, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, retired General Jose Almonte, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV

Comments

  1. Neil says

    September 19, 2018 at 12:59 PM

    For YOU my Dear Anti-Duterte,

    Nung namatay mga HongKong nationals sa hostage crisis, at galit na galit ang HongKong sa atin, pinagparesign ba si GEN.PURISIMA?
    Nung naging sikat sa kahihiyan ang Pilipinas dahil sa laglag bala, pinagparesign niyo ba MIA chief?

    Nung nabulok ang mga gamot at bigas para sa Yolanda victims dahil hindi pinamigay, pinagparesign ba si rainbow-haired DSWD secretary?

    Singil ng singil si HENARES sa TAX ng maliliit tapos yun pala hindi niya sinisingil si LUCIO TAN at ang PAL na ngayon ay ginawa ni DUTERTE. Nalinlang pala kayo ng amo niyong si PNOY???

    Iyong ginawa nila sa Lumad at mga patayan sa HACIENDA LUISITA during PNOY’s term, pinagresign niyo ba sya?

    Nung palpak ang forecast at management ni MAR ROXAS sa Yolanda, pinagparesign ba sya?

    Iyong ginamit nila ang World donations ng Yolanda sa sarili nilang interest at naubos na raw, pinagparesign nyo ba si PNOY? Ni hindi nga natupad magpasagasa sa tren dahil hindi niya nagawa ang MRT sa Cavite? Hindi nyo din pinag resign?

    Nung magkasira2 araw2 ang mga tren, pinagparesign niyo ba si ABAYA?
    Nung mag leak ang personal info niyo sa comelec, pinagparesign niyo ba si ANDY BAUTISTA?

    Iyong namasaker yong SAF 44 dahil sa desisyon nila ni PNOY at PURISIMA
    ng kapabayaan, pinagparesign niyo ba si PNOY?

    Nung nagkabuwisit2 na ang mga pinoy sa kapalpakan ni PNOY. pinagparesign niyo ba amo niyo?

    Alam niyo ba kung sino lang pinagparesign niyo? Si CJ RENATO CORONA, dahil panig sa mga pobreng magsasaka ang disisyon niya sa Hacienda Luicita..

    Kakapal ng mukha nyo diba?.. Resign DU30 kuno.. eh yung mga sabwat sa krimen sa panahon ni PANOT, bakit tameme kayo? Kasi para kumbinsihin sarili niyo na karapatdapat siya sa pagkapangulo dahil nagpakatanga kayo noon sa EDSA 1, pinanindigan nyo pa katangahan niyo na binoto niyo ang incompetent na taong ito na kayang kaya niyo utuin na namatay yung nanay nyang tinawag nyong Santo? Ang galing niyo rin ano??!!! Wag kayo mandamay ng kamalasan.. Mahiya kayo oy..! kung Ang DILAWAN sangkot sa kabulastugan at Corruption tahimik kayo OMBUDSMAN… Yung mga walang kasalanan at hadlang sa mga dilawan yun ang ginagawan niyo ng propaganda para mapagtakpan ang kabulastugan ng DILAWAN…

    #DU30solid
    #TuloyAngPagbabago
    #MyDuterte
    #TatayDigong

    Copy Paste kung Pro Duterte ka🇵🇭🇵🇭

    • raissa says

      September 25, 2018 at 5:53 PM

      Hi,

      Your post is a combination of fake news and wrong information.

      But I’ll let it pass to give the others a chance to react.

      You will have to defend your opinions here.

      1. For starters, when you asked –
      “Nung namatay mga HongKong nationals sa hostage crisis, at galit na galit ang HongKong sa atin, pinagparesign ba si GEN.PURISIMA?”

      FYI, Gen. Purisima was NOT the PNP chief then. It was Director General Jesus Versoza.

      2. You talked about Lucio Tan’s tax evasion case.

      Unfortunately, he won the court case during Gloria Arroyo’s time. You should lash back at Arroyo and Tan’s lawyer Mendoza, who also became Arroyo’s lawyer. Mag-research ka naman. Don’t merely copy and past maski pro-Duterte ka. 🇵🇭🇵🇭

      3. The case of Renato Corona – Corona claimed Aquino went after him because of Hacienda Luisita. I believe Aquino went after him because he was Arroyo’s midnight appointee, meant to protect her from all the cases that would be filed against her.

      4. When you said –
      “Kakapal ng mukha nyo diba?.. Resign DU30 kuno..”

      Who said anything about resigning? I didn’t. Don;t generalize.

      I sense this deep anger in you. That clouds your reason.
      Is that what Duterte does to you?
      Just asking.

  2. Val mitchel says

    September 17, 2018 at 2:47 AM

    heroic rebels often did not triumph in the face of adversity so to speak become a potential opponent over a bloody and corrupt regimes is seriously uncompromising🚶

    • raissa says

      September 17, 2018 at 5:25 PM

      Hi Val,

      Pls. elaborate on what you mean.

      Thanks.

      And welcome to Cyber Plaza Miranda, the global tambayan ng bayan.

  3. leona says

    September 16, 2018 at 10:02 PM

    ‘For he that fights and runs away,

    May live to fight another day.’

    Sen. Trillanes IV: Duterte really wants me killed.

    “Probably they’ll have to put me away physically – either killing me or
    isolating me from the rest of the world”

    What are the odds in their fights? Slim chance
    for Sen. Trillanes. He’ll get both: killed and isolated
    for good.

    ‘For he that fights and runs away,

    May live to fight another day.’

    Their fight is not even fair and square. Even
    at that.

    Should the Senator run away and fight
    another day?

    Or he can stay and take his chance?
    ‘But he who stops and takes a chance / Makes his exit in an ambulance.’

    Gen. Patton said: ‘ No bastard ever won a war
    by dying for his country. You won it by making the other
    poor dumb bastard die for his country.

    ‘In it’s modern usage, it’s both wisdom and mockery.
    It’s wisdom in that it’s true. It’s mockery in that it mocks
    the glorification of “courage” and “standing up for yourself”.
    (In fact, I don’t recall ever hearing it used in reference to a
    military conflict, but always, eg, a confrontation with a bully
    or some other “real life” confrontation.’

    The primary meaning is: “Better to retreat and marshal your forces
    than to waste a glorious death in sure defeat.”

    The Senator has already shown that he tried to fight.

    ‘Positioning yourself for defeat is no strategy for victory,
    so find a position that leverages your advantages
    .

    Can the Senator run away to fight another day? How?
    Helicopter? Or find Peter Lim as they cannot find him (kuno).

    Mao in the Boardroom: Marketing Genius from the Mind
    of the Master Guerilla
    .

    Their rules: If the only opportunity to fight is on the competition’s
    home field, we should try to fight anyway.

    ‘Our Rules: If the only opportunity to fight is on the
    competition’s home field, then we should wait until the
    opportunity arises to fight them on our turf. We should
    live to fight another day.
    ‘

    What is the culture of Sen. Trillanes IV?

    ‘It’s mockery.

    It might depend on how much valor is valued in one’s culture:

    great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle.

    Valor [1350–1400] comes from the Latin valēre: to be of worth.

    The Spartans would clearly think it was a mockery. The wives and mothers of Spartans going off to battle reportedly sent them off with the following sentiment:

    Come back with your shield – or on it. (Plutarch, Mor. 241)’

    But to run away maybe a defeat but
    it is not a complete defeat.

    What then should the Senator do?

    • leona says

      September 16, 2018 at 10:03 PM

      https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/214999/for-he-that-fights-and-runs-away-may-live-to-fight-another-day-wisdom-or-moc

      • arc says

        September 17, 2018 at 9:57 AM

        rtc should just thrash the revocation, there is no need for it kasi. the country is not under attack by martians! the military dont want junta, no coup and no mutiny in the offing, uncalled for talaga yang revocation, maliciously declared overseas pa. what’s the emergency? and why in the name of the blighted durian did duterte cut his trip short and rush home? pinas was not running away to join european union! sayang tuloy yong pamasahe nila, baka walang refund.

        rtc, pakiusap lang po, walang merit yang revocation. thrash it.

        • leona says

          September 17, 2018 at 12:16 PM

          Tama ka arc…everybody should
          agree the revocation has no merit.

          RTCs should it void it under the Constitution
          and the laws.

          Downfall of Duterte will be
          because of his own supporters
          and not by Trillanes IV.

          Look what happened to Marcos
          because of someone killing
          Ninoy. A bitter and regrettable
          infamy. Time to stop being a
          narcissist.

        • Marmee Cruz says

          September 17, 2018 at 1:14 PM

          It’s actually Trillanes who’s reaping the rewards of this fiasco, to Dutz’ dismay. He’s gotten more supporters, media mileage and the usual silent folks spoke up for him.

          He could be the NEXT president. Watta laugh on Duterte, et al!

        • netty says

          September 20, 2018 at 5:39 AM

          He has more elucidating non fake news and press con and breaking truthful news than Mr. bukbuk DUTERTE.

          I turn off sound on Mr Dutz speech, I am not wasting my time on DOM.

          Lalo ng nangitim sa galit si PDUTZ.
          You know, hyper, hyper pig-mentation.

          I am liking how that sounds, President Sonny “Sunny” Trillanes.
          Trilla in the palace.

          Words I copied for PSONNY TRILLANES :)

          “People who do things that count, never stop to count them.

          Be yourself. patriot. Everyone else is taken.
          ( BY CORRUPTION, PAYTRIOT)

          Try not to become a person of success but rather
          a PERSON OF VALUE”

        • raissa says

          September 17, 2018 at 5:22 PM

          Have I ever said that you guys are right on the money?

          You are!

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist Then they came fof the Trade Unionists, and I did not out speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— And there was no one left to speak for me. —Martin Niemöller (1892-1984)

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