Trillanes: ‘Voters wronged by Duterte should reject 2019 admin bets’

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday called on all Filipinos who have been wronged in one way or another by the Duterte administration to use the 2019 midterm elections to retaliate by rejecting its candidates for the Senate.

This early, Trillanes said he is already seeing a shift in the tide as far as support for President Duterte is concerned. 

He cited several factors that have led to this reversal of the public’s satisfaction with Duterte, starting with the killing of minors such as Kian delos Santos; increase in the price of goods and commodities due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law; seeming indifference of the government toward China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea, and the kiss the President had with a married Filipina based in Korea.

Trillanes said the support base of Duterte would decline even further and that his recent rants against God and the Catholic Church only served to speed up the process.

According to Trillanes, the internal surveys commissioned by his office are showing that people are starting to reject the allies of the administration in some parts of the country.

He said the surveys are generally meant to determine the pulse of the people on different issues and more recently, to see the feedback of the electorate on the possible candidates for the 2019 senatorial race. 

Based on what he is seeing, Trillanes said it is only a matter of time before Duterte ends up like former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the latter part of her term, when the public decided to reject her and her allies, particularly during the elections.

“That is why the 2019 election is critical. So to all who have been wronged by Duterte, this is when you should retaliate. Reject them (administration candidates) and things will change. I guarantee that,” Trillanes said. 

With his term already ending next year, Trillanes said he will actively campaign for the political opposition and against the minions of Duterte.

Trillanes said he is part of the selection committee of the Liberal Party-led opposition for the 2019 polls. 

So far, the opposition has only six candidates on its slate: Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, former Akbayan party-list congressman Barry Gutierrez, De La Salle University College of Law founding dean Jose Manuel Diokno and former Quezon representative Lorenzo Tañada III.

Trillanes mentioned actress Agot Isidro as the sixth candidate but LP president and Sen. Francis Pangillinan recently said this has yet to be finalized. 

Apart from the six, Trillanes said the opposition is pushing for former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to run for Senate.

He said former senator and interior secretary Manuel Roxas II is also being considered even though the latter has stated that he is not interested in running in 2019.