What is Trillanes thinking?

What in the world is former senator Antonio Trillanes IV thinking? Is he under the impression that Vice President Sara Duterte is a guaranteed loser in the 2028 presidential election? Is he so certain that our country’s next president in 2028 will exclusively come from the ranks of the opposition, and that the only issue that’s up for voters to decide is who it will be among opposition leaders?

From out of nowhere, without any visible provocation, Trillanes recently came out accusing former vice president and 2022 presidential candidate Leni Robredo of saying that she would not have given up former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) had she been president, supposedly because of her long-standing friendship with the VP. By way of proof, Trillanes cites the VP’s visit to Robredo at the latter’s Naga City house in September 2024. “You won’t allow an enemy into your house. Even your acquaintance, most likely not. You only allow your friends. This optics, it’s very clear,” he said.

Even more confounding, Trillanes went on to claim as follows: “There is really an alliance [between Robredo and the VP]; there has been one ever since. That’s the context. That’s why I said in 2028, I’m not inclined to support Leni because she is aligned and friends with Sara Duterte.”

Trillanes didn’t stop with Robredo. He additionally claimed that Sen. Bam Aquino was also not in favor of turning over the former president to the ICC to face charges. Aquino supposedly asked Trillanes to hold any ICC arrest warrant against the former president, as it could affect the former’s chances in the last midterm elections.

Trillanes wasn’t coy about his motive for coming out with his accusations. He went on to reveal that he would pick Sen. Risa Hontiveros over Aquino and Robredo as the “best choice” and the most viable candidate against the VP in 2028.

Trillanes’ claim that there has been an “alliance” between Robredo and the Dutertes “ever since” is unbelievable considering that Robredo was mistreated, ridiculed, and sidelined during the Duterte presidency. Even his claim that there is “friendship” between Robredo and the VP—on a level that makes Robredo compromise her principles—is a shallow conclusion that Trillanes deduces from the mere fact that Robredo allowed the VP to visit her at her home during the Peñafrancia Festival. As regards Trillanes’ assertion that Robredo would not have allowed the former president’s ICC arrest if she won as president in 2022, this is completely debunked by video clips showing Robredo praising Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest as consistent with our people’s demands for justice.

Has Trillanes bothered to consider that the reason why Robredo has been silent on national issues is because she has passed on the baton of opposition leadership to Hontiveros, and has given way for the latter to shine on the national stage without Robredo’s shadow lurking around?

Even Trillanes’ claim that Aquino asked him to hold any ICC warrant against the former president is equally hard to believe. Is Aquino so dense as to think that Trillanes can dictate when ICC judges will issue an arrest warrant?

No one has a monopoly on love of country. Just because others have different views on what’s good for the country, as well as the path to achieve it, doesn’t necessarily mean that they love our country less or that they love our country the wrong way.

Some, like Trillanes, may think that the principal objective for 2028 is for the opposition to capture the presidency. But others may think that the primary and realistic objective for 2028 should be to ensure that the Dutertes do not recapture the presidency, and whoever wins to defeat the Dutertes will be a secondary objective. Some, like Trillanes, may think that the opposition must field a puritanical candidate who will engage in a crusade-like campaign in the 2028 presidential election. However, others may think that we must form alliances with other groups in order to ensure that we attain what is achievable and better for the country in the meantime, and use it as a stepping stone toward eventually reaching the ideal good for the country.

One reality in our current body politic is that there remains a huge chunk of our people who have blind allegiance to the Dutertes, and no amount of scandal, corruption, or immorality can change their minds. A second reality is that there’s a sizeable number of our electorate who have been or who will be disillusioned with the Marcoses and their chosen successor as the ruling administration approaches the end of its term, because of the bad economy and corruption scandals. A third reality is that many of those who will be disillusioned with the Marcoses and their chosen successor will likely shift their allegiance to the Dutertes and not to any yellow/pink candidate for reasons that are still hard to understand. With these realities, is a moral crusade or a coalition movement the right path to victory for the opposition in 2028?

The Marcoses and the Dutertes formed a “Uniteam” to achieve victory in 2022 before parting ways as mortal enemies shortly after. Trillanes wants the complete reverse—create disunity as a path to victory in 2028.

—————-

Comments to fleamarketofideas@gmail.com