Poe denies role in Trillanes exposé vs Duterte

BALANGA, Bataan, Philippines – Sen. Grace Poe is furious over allegations by the camp of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that she was behind the exposé of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV regarding the P211-million unexplained wealth of the mayor.

Poe said she had nothing to do with the issue and only learned about it yesterday from the news.

She said Trillanes’ reputation alone should have doused any speculation that anyone could be behind his exposés.

Duterte’s runningmate Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano described Trillanes as a “Poetector.” 

“Why is he blaming me? He knows Sen. Trillanes. They were together during the Senate hearing on PDAF. Can you stop him from revealing anything that he knew?” Poe said, referring to the hearing on  the pork barrel scam.

“If there is one senator who can never be stopped from investigating any anomaly, whether it involved a friend, an ally or a foe, it is Trillanes. Why shouldn’t he ask him directly?” Poe said, referring to Cayetano.

Poe was obviously irked by the issue, which came amid Duterte’s lead in recent poll surveys.

Trillanes declared earlier that he is endorsing Poe. 

Whatever Trillanes’ objectives may be in baring Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, Poe said it would be up to the mayor to answer and disprove the allegations.

“The easiest way to do it is for him to open the account for public scrutiny. He was the first to dare his rivals to sign a waiver. He said he was willing to die for the country, this is one of the ways of doing it,” Poe said, referring to Duterte.

She hit her critics for having a double-standard in dealing with issues hurled against her.

“He should also prove that what was said was untrue. It’s difficult because when I have an allegation, I have to present proof. Why would you say that I paid for it? How did I pay for it? I just read about it in the news,” Poe said in Filipino.

Trillanes said that he would not allow Cayetano to divert the issue because “his boss should clarify it himself.”

He said he was not doing this for the benefit of Poe, but for “the public to know that Duterte is not what he pretends to be.”

Trillanes said he would come out with more revelations on Duterte in the coming days and he would release these once he has validated the information.

Poe vows to protect fisher folk

Meanwhile, Poe vowed to protect and conserve the Philippine seas in order to help fishermen in the provinces.

“The integrity, protection, rehabilitation and conservation of Philippine seas will be my priority. We must all nurture and protect the ecosystem of endangered fish species, which are threatened by illegal fishing methods,” Poe said.

She said poor government support as shown by weak infrastructure has resulted in post-harvest losses of up to 25 percent of the total catch of local fishermen.

The decline in fish harvest has made the country’s 1.4 million fishermen among the poorest, with 39 percent living below the poverty line. The figure is higher than the national average of 26 percent.

Poe said the government should allocate the highest subsidy for fishermen, so the country could attain its goal of having healthy and strong citizens.

“Let’s strengthen the financial and technical support for the fisherfolk. Let’s build fish landing centers and provide them fishing gear, skills and knowledge on modern fish processing technology,” she said.

Poe called for a strong enforcement of the Amended Fisheries Code and modernization of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to combat illegal fishing operations, particularly in coastal municipalities.

Data from BFAR show that almost 10,000 cases of dynamite fishing are recorded every day. Of the country’s 13 fishing grounds, 10 are heavily exploited. 

Under Poe’s Gobyernong May Puso, education and training programs will include women who process and sell fish products.

“Our country is composed of more water than land. It is unacceptable that fishermen remain among the poorest of the poor. Let’s reform the industry so we can empower and protect the fishermen,” she said. – With Christina Mendez