Antonio Trillanes: The Necessary Opposition
Written By Ronan Colin Co
Early on in the face of the Duterte administration’s rampant scrutiny against any political officials with dissenting opinions, it became very clear which of our elected representatives would pander to President Rodrigo Duterte and his cronies — cowering behind their political allegiances for their own interests — and which of those would actually dare to go against the ruling political hegemony regardless of the consequences it may have brought upon.
Arguably one of the most iconic figures among said officials who dared to go against Duterte, especially early in Duterte’s regime, was former senator Antonio Fuentes Trillanes IV. When speaking of consequences, Trillanes faced firsthand the wrath of Duterte and his allies in their attempts to depose him of his position.
Duterte himself attempted to jail Trillanes through the revocation of the then-senator’s amnesty and the order for his arrest, alongside cases of inciting to sedition and a kidnapping case being filed by lawyers loyal to Duterte. There were many instances of Paolo Duterte, the eldest son of the Duterte family, filing both civil cases and several miscellaneous complaints against Trillanes.
Of course, none of these cases ever amounted to anything, as they were all veiled attempts to silence one of the Duterte administration’s harshest critics.
With that all being in the past, it’s pertinent to look at the present and the existing circumstances that surround the current story of former senator Trillanes. The upcoming 2022 elections are reminiscent of that of the 2016 elections; both Trillanes and a Duterte are butting heads again this time, but with two elements changed this time around.
First, Trillanes is no longer vying for the Vice Presidential seat and is now seeking reelection in the Senate. Second, it is no longer the same Duterte that is running; this time it’s Sara Duterte, the eldest daughter of the current president, Rodrigo Duterte.
Even with Sara not having held the seat of the executive body yet, Trillanes has pulled no punches in launching critiques of her proposed policies and promises during the campaign period.
The most prominent example is when Sara Duterte proposed mandatory military service, Trillanes called out her proposal publicly for being “wrong on so many levels” and that “it shows her lack of understanding on national security matters. Like her father, everything is about power tripping.”
When Trillanes was asked to expound on why he believed it was “wrong on so many levels,” he gladly shared his criticisms.
Military Man
Trillanes shared that first, Sara has had no apparent intention of what problem she wants to address with her proposal for mandatory military service. If the intent was to instill a sense of nationalism, Trillanes pointed out that we already have the country’s National Service Training Program (NSTP) and we should just strengthen and or refine it instead.
For those unaware, the NSTP is a program that the Philippine government instituted in 2001, which sought to promote civic education and defence preparedness among tertiary students.
Trillanes explores the fact that warfare has developed far from what it once was in the past two decades, with cyber warfare and nuclear warfare being dominant forces that should shape our country’s policies. He asserts that our country differs vastly from countries with existing mandatory military service.
“We are different from South Korea, [which] has just a line away, a demarcation line away from actual war with North Korea. [We are different from] Israel, [which] is surrounded by traditional or ideological enemies of Israel such as the Arab nations.”
But another important factor that Trillanes highlighted is that of logistics; he argued that our country’s systems cannot support such a policy and it would create a “logistical nightmare”.
On the same topic of the military, Trillanes was also asked about his planned reforms in the security sector, as he had promised to both abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and push for the increase in allowances and combat duty pay for the military and police.
In dealing with the NTF-ELCAC, Trillanes’ response was simple: the task force has already surpassed its reason for existence and needs to be abolished.
“... it has surpassed its reason for existence so it needs to be abolished anyway because they said that they would end the conflict by December of 2021 and they failed. What’s the reason for us to extend it?”
Trillanes also delineates from the sentiment that abolishing NTF-ELCAC would mean assisting the NPA or other terrorist groups, as he insists that the effective and successful anti-insurgency programs of the task force should be adopted and implemented further, similar to the stance of Leni Robredo who supported the same practice.
Trillanes taking a picture with shoppers at a Bataan public market.
With there having been a substantial amount of critique and backlash lobbied against the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) coming from progressive and opposition groups because of the growing practice of red-tagging and past participation of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) within these agencies, it may initially seem contradictory for Trillanes to be pushing for the increase in allowances and combat duty pay for the military and police. But Trillanes makes his case for this succinctly.
“You have to separate the rank and file. Right now, we have real enemies of the state. We have active groups involved in terrorism that they are engaging and risking their lives daily to address those.”
On red-tagging, Trillanes signifies that it is a leadership issue, as it’s an issue of military commanders giving orders to soldiers that those with dissenting opinions, protesters and the like are enemies of the state. He gives the example of the time of former President Benigno Aquino III, with his military commanders not having the same problem of red-tagging and with their agencies not being riddled with human rights violations as opposed to during the Duterte administration.
There is also an acknowledgement that came from Trillanes, that while there are truly non-combatants being targeted, if you take them out of the equation, real enemies of the state (such as the NPA rivals and separatist groups in Mindanao) will remain that have to be addressed, With that in mind, we have to take into consideration in providing for the morale and welfare of the troops facing these conflicts.
Given Trillanes’ background in the military, having graduated from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and being a retired Philippine Navy Officer, he is often described and characterized as a stereotypical military man despite his place in the Philippine opposition. The stereotype carries with it a negative connotation, especially during the time of the Duterte administration with military men being known for human rights violations and abuses of power. Because of this, there have been sentiments coming from doubters of his campaign, especially regarding how there shouldn’t be a military man in the opposition, as the military in today’s politics is also usually aligned with the current administration of Duterte. Trillanes wishes, of course, to debunk this claim and I think it’s best if you read his words directly in his defence.
“Those who are saying that are probably never for people like me, to begin with […] I would like to believe that during the 12 years that was given to me as a senator of the Republic by the people, I served them well. I didn’t commit any acts of corruption, I didn’t use power to oppress people or to red-tag anybody, or power-trip during my term. These insinuations that I am a stereotype of a militaristic or fascist mindset is unfounded because I have in fact displayed the contrary.”
In Hindsight
Trillanes at a session on the Confirmation of Ad Interim Appointments of Generals, Flag and Senior Officers of the AFP (2014).
Former senator Antonio Trillanes has held with him the benefit of hindsight throughout his political career, gaining notoriety early on because of his involvement with the Oakwood mutiny of 2003 and the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007. After facing the consequences of his actions, then-president Benigno Aquino III eventually gave him amnesty on December 20, 2010. Now, Trillanes still mentions to this day the importance of constitutional remedies to resolve our political problems.
On the topic of hindsight, in looking back on his prediction back in 2017 that the popularity ratings of Duterte would go down in due time, Trillanes reflects and believes that he may have underestimated the strength of the propaganda machinery of the Duterte administration and that his prediction only came 3 years later in reality.
“They controlled the flow of information, they demonized mainstream media, they propagated fake news and propaganda through their social media infrastructure. The truth was having a very difficult time reaching the general populace …”
His prediction, and the only time the truth could finally be revealed to the people, according to Trillanes, was during the pandemic.
“... they [the Filipino people] saw the incompetence, the corruption, the oppression, during this pandemic.”
As he recalls how the numbers of Duterte’s approval ratings went down (and according to internal surveys his campaign had previously launched, the President’s ratings were apparently around 20%), Trillanes claims that this is the same reason why Duterte has backed out of both the vice-presidential and senatorial races as he says that Duterte knew he would likely lose.
But even after the destruction and deterioration of our democratic institutions caused by the Duterte administration, Trillanes remains hopeful for our democracy.
“The fact we’re still a democratic nation, [the] majority of the people still rejected the martial law RevGov [revolutionary government] of Duterte — and here we are, about to conduct another democratic exercise.”
However, that same hope does not extend toward the possibility of Bongbong Marcos winning the elections. Trillanes predicts a bleak future for the country in that instance.
“Our country as a democracy will not survive anymore under a Marcos administration.”
Attributing this to two reasons, Trillanes firstly highlights Bongbong’s primary objective in getting into power is not for service, but for personal vindication and redemption. We can assume this is in line with the trend of the rehabilitation of the Marcos image, with vindication and redemption referring to the justifiably large amount of criticism and bad press the past administration of his father, Ferdinand Marcos, has received.
Second, Trillanes shares his take regarding the fact that there is no buffer in mitigating the effects of an incompetent leader economically and politically speaking. As in the case prior to the 2016 elections, the administration of Benigno Aquino had built up both the strength of democratic institutions and economic gains of the nation, with both now being “squandered” and “destroyed” by the Duterte administration. Statistics show that the Philippine economy during the time of Benigno Aquino grew at an average rate of 6.2%, the highest rate the country had seen in decades. On the contrary, there was a significant negative drop of 16.5% during the Duterte administration and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Within the first two years of his [Bongbong Marcos] administration in case he wins, would be the most chaotic times of the country and similar to the early to mid-80s of the administration of his father.”
Trolls
Trillanes brought an extremely interesting concept up during the interview. Going back to propaganda machines, Trillanes told us that Duterte and Bongbong Marcos have long had a shared structure in spewing their lies and misinformation as early as 2012.
“The social media infrastructure of [Rodrigo] Duterte was hinged primarily on the social media infrastructure of Bongbong Marcos. They were working together.”
It was also alleged that in building up the social media infrastructure of their partnership, they approached administrators of Facebook pages and groups and that they had bought actual Facebook and Twitter accounts alongside the now common utilization of artificial trolls to “rehabilitate” the Marcos brand. Although, it has to be noted that this shared structure is a thing of the past, as their partnership has been evidently broken up a few months earlier, with Duterte calling out Marcos for being a “weak leader” and a “spoiled child”.
When asked what the current opposition is doing to go against these trolls and dummy accounts, Trillanes simply states that they cannot afford to match their efforts. Instead, he stresses the fact that the opposition right now is just relying on volunteers and actual believers as opposed to bots and trolls.
On A United Opposition
The Duterte administration is not the only enemy Trillanes has made over his political career, One of his most prominent political adversaries being that of Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr, the son of former vice president Jejomar “Jojo” Binay. Trillanes has been one of the primary individuals in forwarding corruption allegations of Binay back in 2015 and has also formerly been found guilty of libel for accusing former Makati mayor Junjun Binay of buying off the Court of Appeals (CA) justices in order to garner their favour in the same year.
Yet despite their rivalry, Trillanes and Binay are currently both included in Robredo’s slate. It begged whether his views on Binay had changed or if something else was afoot. A short while afterward, it became very clear that his views had not changed.
Trillanes with Vice President Leni Robredo at a meeting with fellow opposition leaders on October 7, 2021, the day when Robredo filed her candidacy for President.
“If Leni Robredo is going to be a symbol of good governance and anti-corruption, there cannot possibly be a Binay in your slate. But then I’m just a candidate or part of the slate of VP Leni, and therefore I have no say in that.”
Trillanes explains he had already registered his opposition to his inclusion, and that it’s a wrong impression that he has already embraced Binay with his inclusion. He reasserts his statements that the pending cases against Binay would continue regardless and that he still feels the same way about it.
On the same topic of Robredo’s slate, Robredo was reported to have met with both Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Ping Lacson back in September and in July 2021, respectively. When these reports initially came to light alongside the initial decision of Leni Robredo to not vie for the presidency, it prompted Trillanes to offer himself as the presidential candidate of the opposition instead. When asked why he was so against including candidates like Isko and Ping in a potential opposition coalition, Trillanes claims he knew from the very start that they don’t represent the opposition.
“I’ve been proven correct later on by the eventual positions of Mr. Isko Moreno that he’s really pro-Duterte. As for senator Lacson, I’m not blind to his participation during the early part of the Duterte administration. He has been an enabler of Duterte and supported the EJKs. He was at the forefront in the persecution of Senator De Lima.”
Regardless of the previous contention and tensions among the candidates of the opposition in attempting for a united coalition, Trillanes believes that the opposition is still united. As he instead believes, it is candidates like Ping Lacson who are actually fragmenting the pro-administration voters, rather than those who would vote for the opposition.
“We don’t have a shared market with them because I don’t see a pro-Ping Lacson who’s supposed to have this pro-Macho or iron fist policy mindset, would be supporting somebody who is the opposite extreme in the person of VP Leni.”
To explore voter fragmentation, another candidate that was previously interviewed by our publication was also brought up in our interview with Trillanes. Particularly, how a rising candidate in the opposition, Leody de Guzman, might affect the opposition.
Trillanes was asked his opinion on Ka Leody, particularly on the sentiment that has been spotted among supporters of Robredo that he is merely a nuisance candidate that is drawing away votes from Robredo herself, making the election harder to win for the opposition.
Unsurprisingly, Trillanes defends Ka Leody and cites his right to run and that Leni herself isn’t concerned about the other candidates. He also mentions that he himself has campaigned with the same mindset in attempting to convert as many voters as they can.
“Leody de Guzman has every right to run if he believes he would have the tools to make this a better country, and he has every right to aspire for that. I don’t think VP Leni is concerned about what the other candidates would be doing, she’s more concerned [about] how to present herself in the best possible light so that she would be able to convince the most number of people enough for her to win the elections.”
Issues Upon Issues
In the last part of our interview, Trillanes shared his plans on several issues plaguing Philippine society ranging from corruption and divorce to education and the future pandemic response of the government. Starting with corruption, Trillanes has already manifested his interest in chairing the blue-ribbon committee of the Senate in past statements. When asked why he specifically was gunning for the committee’s chairmanship, he emphasized the importance of control.
“... I’d be able to control, at least, the conduct of the proceedings and I’d be able to get all the information that I need to get from the different agencies instead of me just relying on whoever is the chairman of the blue-ribbon committee to conduct these investigations. So it’s just more about being able to control these proceedings.”
And although no one else on Robredo’s slate has manifested the same interest, he says that he’s open to discussions if ever another candidate does in the future.
Moving on to divorce, Trillanes has had the same stance on divorce over his political career, citing that the people must be ready in order for politicians to enact policies that will legalize divorce. However, according to surveys as far back as 2018, at least 53% of Filipinos have already been in favour of legalizing divorce. With that in mind, it was then asked of him what would necessitate for “the people to be ready” in that instance. His response was to put it to a vote, mentioning that certain issues like divorce should be given directly to the people.
“My proposal for that is to subject this issue to a referendum that would answer your question and the true will of the people would show and, for the proponents of both sides, talk to the people directly.”
Being a member of the academe as a professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman and at Ateneo de Manila University, Trillanes has had on-the-ground experience with the state of the educational sector in our country. While teaching at the most prestigious universities in the entire nation, he addressed the problem of the educational system, especially for the masses and the public after witnessing for himself its weaknesses.
“Ultimately, when talking about the educational system in the country at the different levels, it still boils down to accessibility and affordability. Democratizing the educational system. Then, after that, or along with that, it’s about the quality of education.“
He notes that public school systems especially need to upgrade their facilities, with most public schools not having computer laboratories or access to the internet, which to him is extremely important considering the digital age.
Even in the most basic of necessities, such as classrooms, desks, and chairs, Trillanes insists on the need to provide them after seeing them being held under a literal mango tree. He also stressed the importance of teachers, with there being an exorbitant disproportionate rate of students to teachers in public schools, providing the example of teachers having to teach four different grade levels simultaneously in the same classroom.
Last, on the government’s future COVID response, Trillanes had formerly stated that the Senate must remain subordinate to the plans and programs of the executive.
But would that statement remain true in the event of a Marcos victory?
Trillanes meeting with Cordillera Region campaign volunteers.
Trillanes says yes.
“When it comes to the pandemic, we need to move fast. We need to give that presumption that no matter how evil these people [Marcos-Duterte] are, at the very least they are also concerned about their own health.”
Even so, Trillanes clarifies his position that even in cooperation and subordination, it does not abdicate the role as a watchdog of the entire government and its operations. He still heightens the importance of asking certain questions but not being a stumbling block, especially in hampering the delivery of essential programs such as vaccinations and ayuda.
“... under a Bongbong administration, God forbid, we will just have to be extra vigilant. But still, we cannot be a stumbling block.”
In The End
There’s always the possibility of losing in the upcoming elections, and Trillanes has already prepared for such an event. He says that in the unfortunate event he cannot win in the upcoming elections, he would go back to the academe and pursue his profession as a teacher. But he remains true to his character and maintains that as a citizen of this republic he would do his duty regardless of winning in the elections or not.
“... if there will be a platform for me to speak out, if there are issues that need to be [spoken about], then I would. I won’t hesitate to do that.”
Recommended Song:
Nocturne in C-sharp minor, B.49 - Frédéric Chopin
Editor’s Note: Fascinating Features and Today’s Carolinian, when editing this article, did not find any source stating that the NFT-ELCAC would end the communist insurgency by December 2021. We reached out to Senator Trillanes’ campaign team for clarification on the quote; as of April 30, 2022, they have yet to respond. The NFT-ELCAC could not be reached for comment on the quote due to difficulties in contacting the government task force.
Image from Senator Trillanes’ Facebook Page
