EXCLUSIVE: Leni’s meeting with Sara riles Trillanes: ‘Would she receive Roque, Quiboloy and Guo at her home?’
Is former Vice President Leni Robredo a political foe to incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte, or does she not see her as one?
This question was raised by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV who was dismayed when Robredo entertained her successor at her Naga City home last September 20.
The former lawmaker and fierce critic of the Duterte family was expressing the thoughts of many after seeing the former vice president, who is considered the “symbolic head of the Pink Movement,” meet with a scion of the movement’s archenemy.
The Pink Movement, a broad coalition of opposition forces and middle-class voters, supported Robredo in her unsuccessful 2022 presidential bid.
Thus, the meeting between Robredo and Duterte struck a jarring note, disturbing supporters of Robredo, including Trillanes.
In the 2022 elections, Trillanes ran for senator on Robredo’s presidential ticket. Trillanes, Robredo and her running mate Francis Pangilinan were all defeated in their respective races.
In an exclusive interview with Inquirer Mobile, Trillanes said the question he and others raised about the meeting elicited a “pushback” and showed that their meeting was “not okay” with them.
“Would she receive Roque, Quiboloy and Alice Guo (at) her home even if they said it was because of the Peñafrancia (festival)?” Trillanes asked, adding that he did not think Robredo would also welcome her other political opponents, such as the Villafuertes of Camarines Sur, and the Marcoses, into her home.
Trillanes asserted that the controversies that plague Duterte were akin to those that plagued similarly controversial figures like Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, dismissed, Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.
Quiboloy and five other accused have been detained for alleged sexual abuse of minors and human trafficking charges.
Guo has been detained for qualified human trafficking and graft for her alleged involvement in a conspiracy to permit a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hub to engage in human trafficking and other crimes in Bamban, Tarlac.
Harry Roque, who once served as presidential spokesperson, has been hiding since the House of Representatives’ quad committee issued an arrest warrant against him for refusing to submit documents regarding his increased assets, which could prove his links to an illegal Pogo hub in Pampanga.
Meeting with Arroyo
“The important question is, does (former) Vice President Leni look at Sara Duterte as a political enemy or not, because the larger context here is that (a year ago), she met with Arroyo. So, she is meeting with enemies of (President) Marcos?” said Trillanes.
He noted that only a year ago, Robredo had dinner with former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Arroyo is a staunch supporter and defender of Duterte, who is now mired in controversies following the breakup of her political alliance with Mr. Marcos.
“I let it slide,” said Trillanes, referring to the earlier meeting between Robredo and Arroyo.
But when Trillanes learned of the recent Robredo-Duterte meeting, he said: “We need to put brakes on it, otherwise it could lead to something else.”
Trillanes was referring to the September 2023 meeting that Arroyo described as a “social dinner” with Robredo where they discussed Bicol politics. Arroyo and Robredo were photographed with a common friend, which surprised netizens.
Meeting with Robredo a ‘social dinner’ – Gloria Arroyo
‘Alibis’
Trillanes, who is running for mayor of Caloocan City in next year’s election, had posted a series of tweets on his X account also scoffing at the “alibis” that Robredo’s camp made, including the claim that the meeting was done on short notice and that Duterte was in town for the annual Peñafrancia festival.
VP Sara Duterte visited Leni Robredo in Naga, Gutierrez confirms
In the interview with Inquirer Mobile, Trillanes branded as “lies” the excuses made by Robredo spokesperson Barry Gutierrez, noting that government officials, especially vice presidents, follow planned and coordinated schedules and are not the type to ” take a road trip” and ring “doorbells” to see if someone is home.
“I got information from the media that they (Robredo and her camp) were expecting Duterte to visit,” he said.
In his tweets, Gutierrez said Robredo received Duterte at her home and that they did not have a meeting but merely chatted about personal and non-political matters.
“I don’t like Sara Duterte’s politics but it’s only right that VP Leni politely received her,” Gutierrez said.
He also tweeted that Robredo received reelectionist Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos, who will run for senator in 2025, at her Naga City home over the weekend. Gutierrez urged an end to the intrigues surrounding these visits, as the former vice president was merely polite and respectful to her guests.
‘Politically isolated’
So why is Duterte interested in being seen with Robredo?
Trillanes observed that Duterte was looking for allies as she was now “isolated politically.”
“I am not saying that (Robredo and Duterte) are now allies with that visit, but the optics of letting someone into your house means you allowed someone who is not an enemy into your home,” he said.
A home is a “private space” after all, according to Trillanes.
On why Duterte would want Robredo to be her ally, Trillanes said the former vice president is the “symbolic head of the Pink Movement.”
He acknowledged that the meeting between Robredo and Duterte aided the embattled vice president.
“Because the meeting was able to project (for Duterte) that she met with Robredo for an hour and that means, they are not enemies,” he said.
Amid reports that President Marcos’ allies in the House would soon move to impeach Duterte, Trillanes acknowledged that impeachment is “ultimately a political battle for the hearts and minds of people.” Moreover if people detest an official, it would be easier for senators, who will sit as an impeachment court, to vote for his or her ouster, according to him.
He said Duterte would not be detested by the people if “her image is sanitized by someone like Robredo.”
Some members of the Pink Movement would find Duterte acceptable because she’s acceptable to Robredo, Trillanes also said at one point in the interview.
He said none of Robredo’s camp had reached out to him regarding his statements against Robredo and Duterte’s meeting.
Trillanes hopes that Robredo would not meet with Duterte again, given the “pushback.”
“If she does, then she really wants to do so,” he said.
Trillanes said Robredo was an “astute politician” and that “surely she has visualized the possible outcomes, and she went for it anyway.”
