Trillanes: Senate reso for house arrest seeks to appease Duterte family

Metro Manila, Philippines - Former Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV said the Senate resolution urging the International Criminal Court (ICC) to place former President Rodrigo Duterte under house arrest was meant to appease the Duterte family.

Trillanes described the resolution as “a useless exercise” and “sipsip,” or sycophantic, saying it was intended to curry favor with Vice President Sara Duterte and preserve political ties ahead of the 2028 elections.

“Makikita niyo na tama lang talaga sa ICC natin dinala ‘yung kaso kasi dito makita niyo itong mga senador e takot o kaya sumisipsip sa mga Duterte hanggang ngayon,” Trillanes said in an interview with The Newsmaker.

[Translation: You can see that bringing the case to the ICC was the right thing to do, because these senators are still either afraid of or sucking up to the Dutertes.]

Trillanes said the Senate’s move has no bearing on the ICC judges’ decision but it was meant to send a signal of loyalty.

“Wala namang impact yan sa desisyon ng mga ICC judges pero ginawa pa rin nila… kasi ang audience nila dito ‘yung Duterte family, si Sara Duterte in particular,” he said.

[Translation: It has no impact on the decision of the ICC judges and yet they still did it for their local audience especially the Duterte family, including Vice President Sara Duterte]

The Senate last week adopted a resolution filed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano expressing the chamber’s “sense” that the ICC should allow Duterte to be placed under house arrest for humanitarian reasons. The resolution passed with 15 votes in favor, three against, and two abstentions.

Trillanes, a long-time critic of the former president, said the measure only highlighted why the ICC’s involvement in investigating Duterte’s drug war was necessary.

He denied rumors that he visited Duterte in detention during his recent trip to The Hague, saying, “I did not visit Mr. Duterte at any time.”

Trillanes also rejected claims that Duterte’s health is failing.The former senator first brought the case against Duterte before the ICC in 2017 for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the administration’s anti-drug campaign, which left tens of thousands dead.