No more nasty exchanges between Gordon, Trillanes

MANILA, Philippines — This time, there were no heated exchanges between Senators Richard Gordon and Antonio Trillanes IV as the Senate Blue Ribbon committee resumed yesterday its inquiry into the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu into the country last May. 

Gordon and Trillanes quarreled last week over the conduct of the inquiry, prompting the former to file an ethics complaint against the latter for “unparliamentary conduct.”

Trillanes accused the committee, which Gordon chairs, of “lawyering” for President Duterte’s eldest son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manases Carpio, husband of presidential daughter and the city’s mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.  

He also alleged that the younger Duterte and Carpio were leaders of the so-called Davao group that facilitates smuggling at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), including the shabu shipment from China that was recovered from two warehouses in Valenzuela City last May 26. 

Yesterday, the only pointed exchange between the two came when Trillanes raised the issue of Duterte and Carpio’s huge bank accounts, which both denied having.

Trillanes challenged the two to issue waivers if they have nothing to hide even as he alleged that Duterte was taking commissions from projects of the Road Board.

“Maybe your bank accounts are really big,” the senator remarked. 

Gordon asked Trillanes to refrain from making “editorials” or snide remarks as these were unfair to the witnesses. 

“I would let go at this point but we’ve given you so much leeway. Precisely I invited these people for you,” Gordon said.

During the hearing, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III ribbed Sen. Manny Pacquiao for “lawyering” for Chinese businessman Kenneth Dong, who admitted to having pictures or “selfies” with several senators.         

Trillanes earlier showed pictures of Dong, one of those accused as being involved in the drug shipment, with Duterte to press his point that the presidential son was into smuggling.

But Dong said he also has pictures with Gordon, as well as with Senators. Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan, among others. 

Pacquiao said taking selfies with celebrities and other prominent people was commonplace.