Duterte on Trillanes' impeachment threat: I'll close down Congress, be a dictator first

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is unfazed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV's pronouncement that the PDP-Laban standard-bearer could be impeached if he wins the presidency over allegations of hidden wealth.

The tough-talking local executive says he will simply close down Congress if it attempts to impeach him.

"'Pag i-impeach ako, sabi ni Trillanes, eh 'di isara ko 'yang Congress. Eh 'di wala nang mag-impeach sa akin," said Duterte in Bataan on Thursday.

Duterte had previously brought up the idea of having a "revolutionary government" if he becomes president, and he said he intends to follow through on it.

"In every revolution that succeeds, siya 'yung tigas. He now becomes the authority," he said, before bringing up the case of late former president Ferdinand Marcos.

"Tingnan mo si Marcos. Pero kaniya, Martial Law, iba yun. Dictator? Ah, eh 'di alangan. Ako na ang Congress, ako na ang presidente, dictator ka talaga," said Duterte, adding that congressmen wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Sabihin ng congressman, 'Bakit mo naman kami isara?' Eh p-- ina, impeach-impeach kayo diyan," he added.

Trillanes had accused Duterte of maintaining accounts containing hundreds of millions of pesos. While Duterte has admitted to owning some accounts as alleged by Trillanes, he said these only contained hundreds of thousands of pesos, savings from his previous stint as a congressman.

Duterte has led recent presidential preference surveys with barely more than a week before the elections.

Trillanes said this issue could eventually form the basis of an impeachment complaint if Duterte wins the presidency.

"Hindi pwedeng mananalo ang isang tao base sa panlilinlang... Gagawin natin. May mga kasamahan din naman tayo sa House. Haharapin at haharapin mo ito eh, might as well face it now," said Trillanes. --Cedric Castillo/JST, GMA News