APPALLED by the latest tirades against him, President Rodrigo Duterte fired back at his erstwhile ally Senator Manny Pacquiao and staunch critic former Senator Antonio Trillanes whom he aptly claimed as eyeing elective posts for the passion of power.
Duterte’s most recent attack came after Pacquiao claimed that the government is three times more corrupt than its predecessors – and for which reason Trillanes revived corruption allegations against the President, saying he and his former longtime aide Sen. Christopher Go allegedly plundered some P6 billion from public coffers.
“Si Trillanes pareha ni Pacquiao ‘yan. They want to, you know, hold power because they must have—may nakita siguro silang magandang oportunidad nila para sa kanila,” Duterte said in his taped public briefing Monday night.
Addressing his chief legal counsel Salvador Panelo, the President said, “Well, I leave Trillanes to you. Ikaw na ang bahala sa kanya kung anuhin mo ‘yan. Eh daldal nang daldal ‘yan eh hindi naman lumaban ng debate ‘yan,” Duterte added.
Duterte, Go, and their allies have denied the corruption claims against them, which they dismissed as politically motivated.
Both Pacquiao and Trillanes had said they would run for president in 2022, probably against presidential daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte or Senator Bong Go.
Interestingly, Duterte also announced last week that the public should “consider” him as “a candidate for the vice presidency” in the 2022 elections “at this time.”