Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes cemented his infamy after his disastrous interview with Stephen Sackur on his BBC program HARDtalk. He became the laughingstock among Netizens for failing to give rational answers to simple questions. It was very obvious that Sackur did his homework in digging up information about Trillanes’s past criminal activities particularly his two failed mutinies against former President Gloria Arroyo. The British presenter did not hesitate to emphasise how Trillanes contradicts himself with his statements against Duterte and his actions in the past.
Sackur managed to expose the truth about Trillanes — that behind the façade, Trillanes does not respect democracy. At one point when asked if he was a democrat, the senator could not comprehend the question and said he was a member of the Nacionalista Party. Trillanes didn’t seem to know what being a democrat means. This made Sackur laugh out loud. Sackur clarified that he was asking if Trillanes believed in democracy. It seems Sackur had to ask that question because Trillanes comes across as someone who cannot respect democratic institutions and democratic exercises like elections. Throughout the interview, Sackur kept reminding Trillanes that Duterte won the election fair and square. The voters overwhelmingly voted for Duterte despite his warning that he will kill those who continue to peddle illegal drugs.
| SUPPORT INDEPENDENT SOCIAL COMMENTARY! Subscribe to our Substack community GRP Insider to receive by email our in-depth free weekly newsletter. Opt into a paid subscription and you'll get premium insider briefs and insights from us. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter, GRP Insider! Learn more |
Sackur appeared genuinely baffled as to why Trillanes keeps trying to find ways to remove Duterte from the Presidency even though the majority of the public approves of him and are happy with his performance so far. Sackur also emphasised that the economy is doing well and relations with global powers such as China, Russia and the US are strengthening. But after his failed impeachment bid, Trillanes and his former fellow soldier friend Magdalo Partylist Representative Gary Alejano went straight to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands to seek help in prosecuting Duterte.
It’s quite refreshing to watch a foreign correspondent like Sackur grill Trillanes who has been used to bullying his way around. British media is so much better than their American counterpart. They try to understand the situation rather than assume Duterte is evil. Trillanes could not trash talk his way out of the simplest questions from a real journalist. At one point, the word “pathetic” was used to describe him when Sackur reminded him about his failed coup attempts. Local journalists in the Philippines should take note and learn from a professional like Sackur in dealing with scumbag politicians like Trillanes. The only reason politicians like Trillanes get away with stupidity is because the media give them the time of day and don’t ask them the right questions.
Trillanes came across as dense when Sackur pointed out that the cases he filed against Duterte at the ICC don’t have teeth and that the ICC might not even give it their attention. He asked Trillanes if mounting another coup against Duterte is an option since legal avenues have been leading him to dead-ends. Trillanes is still hopeful that the case at the ICC will progress. It’s more of a shot in the dark, really. Trillanes knows this, but he can’t give up. As some people say, he is more of a hired mercenary. It’s not the people who will benefit if Duterte is removed. It’s Trillanes and people who are supporting him to do the dirty job of mounting a case against Duterte. After all, Trillanes has ambitions for the top job himself.
In defending his attempted coup d’état against Arroyo in the past, Trillanes reminded Sackur that Arroyo assumed power through a coup as well. He conveniently did not mention the fact that it was the late former President Cory Aquino who led the ousting of Arroyo’s predecessor former President Erap Estrada through another “people power” revolt. Besides, Arroyo won the election on her second term. Trillanes should have honoured the election results. But honour is obviously not one of his stronger traits.
It was ironic that Trillanes kept emphasising what a dangerous man Duterte is while enjoying the freedom to talk negatively about the President without getting harmed. Trillanes kept accusing Duterte of having minions who use propaganda against him and to fool the public while he himself was issuing negative propaganda against Duterte through the BBC program. Trillanes even gave a dire warning that he believes that the Philippines will eventually fall into a dictatorship next year on his personal assumption that Duterte wants to install a revolutionary government.
Trillanes’s interview with Sackur has made one thing very clear: he is a national embarrassment. There is no hope for him of ever getting elected to a higher office after making a fool of himself. The public has seen his real character and it is not something to be proud of. A lot of people want to see him behind bars. He has already done a lot of damage to Philippine society and should be stopped as soon as possible.
In life, things are not always what they seem.
He had trouble delivering his answers sometimes and had a few blunders (like the Nationalista response and his insistence that Duterte’s approval ratings are going to drop below 50% underestimating the pride of Filipinos to never admit to regretting anything), but I thought he did a great job. I thought it was awesome that he pointed out the irony of being anti-poverty yet most of the victims are poor and also the lack of any drug lords being arrested.
All in all, I fail to see how he got his ass handed to him. Yung admin guys nga local media lang kaharap and they’re making fools out of themselves, while Trillanes survived 20+ minutes of a tough interview that at times even appeared to be antagonistic.
A pessimist sees the glass , half empty; while an optimist sees glass, half full.
Trillanes did not answer some of the important questions. He evaded them..He is throwing Statistics, to cover his ass. He is a pessimist, hoping that the Presidency of Duterte, will not work. So, that , he can run for President, himself.
Trillanes shows his lack of knowledge in some important issues…the drug problem came from the Aquino Cojuangco regime…he and the drug dealer/nymphomaniac were part of the Aquino Cojuangco regime. Trillanes is the “running dog” of the Aquino Cojuangco regime…
The Propaganda machine of the YellowTards are various radio, newspapers and TV stations, like the : ABS-CBN, Inquirer, Rapper.com, etc.. he is hoping that, we will be influenced by these YellowTard propaganda machines…what an idiot…
It is a outrage on us, and insult to our intelligence; that he thinks, we are non thinking individuals, prone to believe any information coming from any media.
We see Pres. Duterte, making some changes. We see he is doing his job well.
The previous administration of the Aquino Cojuangco regime, was full of scandals : Laglag Bala ni Aquino at Abaya sa MIA; DAP; PDAF: Pork Barrel Bribery; gold reserve thievery; overpricing scandals; Mamapasano massacre; Hacienda Luisita protection; Leila de Lima’s conduct of being a drug dealer and nymphomaniac…
Trillanes was a beneficiary of large amount of DAP, PDAF, and Pork Barrel bribery…up to now, he cannot show any good projects, that, he invested for our taxpayers’ money..
This man, Trillanes, is a scam artist and a scum politician, turned Senator. With IQ like that; how did he graduate from the Philippine Military Academy ?
Duterte pages have gone out saying that Trillanes got “destroyed” or “called out” by the host.
I don’t see it. What I saw was the host asking hard-hitting questions and Trillanes answering them satisfactorily.
The part about the failed coups felt more like a legitimate question (which can get under Trillanes’ skin) than a jibe or insult to the senator. The host was just doing his job – asking questions. Personally, I didn’t like how the host kept on focusing on trust ratings and social media feedback but it had to be raised.
If any, I admire Trillanes more for keeping cool, staying on point and answering questions well (with statistics and facts).
I can think of one politician who cannot do any of those three in the face of hard questions.
It’s funny, really. When reporters ask hard questions that put the administration under pressure, reporters are biased; but when these questions are directed to the opposition, the reporters “destroy” them (opposition).
TL;DR: BIAS DDS
@Divan
Which part of what Trillanes said was “satisfactory” to you? He resorted to defending himself with baseless claims and conspiracy theories.
The BBC journalist had to keep reiterating that Duterte won the election overwhelmingly and is still popular because Trillanes does not want to accept those facts. He cannot accept the will of the people, which is what democracy is about. He is still reeling over the fact that someone he hates is in power.
Trillanes had no choice but to stay put and answer the questions because it was a foreigner asking it. He normally walks out when he gets stuck between a rock and a hard place. He has walked out a few times during senate sessions in the past.
I thoufgt he did a reasonable job, answering the questions. He certainly wasn’t made to look “pathetic “.
He certainly answered all the questions, but his answers were all lame and cringe worthy. Only someone biased against Duterte wouldn’t see that.
If you think his answers were “satisfactory,” then you are a yellowtard ball hugger ignorant of reality. PS: As a foreigner I cannot vote here, but I can certainly observe. My 2 Am/Fil children will learn that the Aquino/Cojuangco regimes were responsible for the dismantling of this country.
And now he’s making another headlines… I mean, FAKE NEWS that he said President Duterte is forming a Philippine Death Squad after this humiliating TV interview from a BBC news program called Hardtalk & went viral yesterday. LOL, Sen Trillanes is really a desperate man & a lunatic, he should be treated to the Mental Hospital, ASAP!!! 😀
Trillanes is typical Pinoy in that he knows almost nothing and has the debate skills of a 2 year old. The Failippines is a country the size of the US state of Arizona, but there is more collective brain power, ambition and work ethic in the 7 million residents of Arizona than there is in the 110 million residents of The Failippines.
I like this video comment coming from Erwin Tulfo, he have more brains than Sen. Trillanes. 😀
https://youtu.be/cd87IMvERUQ
Jerry: I haven’t seen the interview (I assume it’s on youtube; I’ll check it later) so I can’t comment on that specifically. However, Trillanes as a person seems to be completely representative of the average Filipino politician, ie., uneducated, incompetent, wilfully ignorant, and in the game largely to line his own pockets. He’s not a one-off: the senate is full of people like him. Writing an article about what an embarrassment he is simply flags up the venality and lack of awareness among Filipinos at large: they, in theory at least, put these idiots in power.
@ilda,
The far-right politics of UK and brit PM Theresa May will not be happy with Sen. Trillanes AKA Trollanes. They are going to turn against him. I see. The UK is going to become conservative, so will PH in the future.
The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them.