Trillanes: Pimentel 'out of bounds' in denying protection for Matobato
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday questioned Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III for going "out of bounds" in denying Senate protection for self-confessed Davao Death Squad member Edgar Matobato.
Trillanes said that he will inquire if Pimentel has the authority to overrule the ruling of the Senate justice committee.
"The job of the Senate president is only ministerial that's why I believe Sen. Koko Pimentel went out of bounds in this particular case," Trillanes said in a telephone interview with ANC's "Headstart."
READ: Pimentel rejects Senate protection for Matobato
Majority of the members of the Senate committee should decide on the case and not just the Senate President, Trillanes said.
Trillanes stressed that arrangements for the temporary security and safety of Matobato.
"The relevance of this witness is to show the pattern of what's happening right now using the Davao template," Trillanes said.
"So, what this witness told the public was that it's not entirely true that it's just a war against crime because there were victims that were actually personal rivals of Duterte," Trillanes added.
Matobato has claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the death of supporters and bodyguards of his former political rival, former House Speaker Prospero Nograles.
However, the son of Nograles, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles has denied the testimonies of Matobato.
“We have no bodyguards. Except those assigned to us officially by the PNP (Philippine National Police). And if you check they are still alive,” Karlo said in a statement.
Presidential sister Jocelyn Duterte also denied the claims of Matobato that her brother ordered the killing of a dance instructor who was reportedly her lover.
On the other hand, Trillanes said that personalities issuing denials are those that "the president or the administration can control."
"What do we expect from the sister? They cannot possibly admit to something that will put their brother in a bad light to we'll have to assume that they won't do that," Trillanes said.
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