Trillanes lists down laws, projects he did for military

MANILA, Philippines — Former rebel soldier Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Sunday released a list of laws and projects he did for the military and police to debunk President Rodrigo Duterte’s claims that he has done nothing for the government forces.

“Duterte is so insecure that he needed to compare his contributions to the military to mine. Well, first of all, there shouldn't be any competition about this, both of us are expected to look out for the welfare of our soldiers. Wala dapat kompetisyon. (There should be no competition) But for him to say that I contributed nothing, is one big lie,” Trillanes said in a release.

Trillanes was reacting to the president’s statement that he was “pretending to be a crusading soldier who did nothing.” 

Duterte also claimed Trillanes abandoned the cause of the military.

"Remember we never started the ruckus. It was all Trillanes pretending to be a crusading soldier, when as a matter of fact, wala naman silang ginawa (they did nothing),” Duterte said during his arrival from Israel and Jordan on Saturday.

"He not only abandoned the vision of the military, he became a corrupt guy, collecting diyan sa mga negosyante (from businessmen). Para siyang abogado. Alam namin 'yan kasi ang negosyante, maski paano mo taguin, nagsasabi talaga yan (He was like a lawyer. We know that because you know businessmen, no matter how you try to hide, they will tell),” he added.

Due to this, Trillanes lashed out anew against the president and listed down laws he authored and sponsored for the military and other uniformed personnel.

Among the laws were the following:

• Joint Resolution No. 5 which Increased the Subsistence Allowance of Uniformed Personnel from P90 to P150;

•  the New Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Act;

• the Salary Standardization Law 3, which drastically increased the salaries of the uniformed personnel and pensions of the retirees; and

• Republic Act 10649 which increased the Burial Assistance for Veterans from P10,000 to P20,000.

Trillanes’ camp also cited that the senator also introduced 18 AFP-related bills which are still pending in the committee.

According to Trillanes, he also has infrastructure projects for the military which were financed through his assistance. These include construction of barracks, mess halls and quarters for enlisted personnel, club rooms and quarters for officers, and multi-purpose buildings in different camps around the country, among others.

Duterte’s tirades against Trillanes on his supposed non-contribution to the government forces came as the two officials exchange word war.

Duterte last week issued Proclamation No. 572 declaring Trillanes’ amnesty, granted by the previous administration, void.

Trillanes is currently staying at his Senate office after learning that he was about to be arrested on the order of Duterte. He has been guaranteed protection from arrest in the Senate premises.

Despite the circumstance, Trillanes said the military’s loyalty could not be bought by Duterte.

“If Duterte thinks that he can buy the loyalty of the military and use them as instruments of oppression, he's dead wrong. They will always remain faithful to their constitutional mandate,” Trillanes said.

“Instead of persecuting his critics, Mr. Duterte should just focus his remaining energy to solving the major problems confronting our countrymen, foremost of which is the rising cost of living,” he added. — Rosette Adel