Lacson hits back at Trillanes: Out of touch with reality, if not hallucinating

Senator Panfilo Lacson said his colleague, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, is “so out of touch with reality, if not hallucinating too much” when he referred to the Senate as a mere “puppet” of the Duterte administration.

“I don't know where he is coming from and I'm not even sure if he is still rational in his thinking. One thing I'm sure about, he is dead wrong,” Lacson said in a text message Monday.

“He is so out of touch with reality, if not hallucinating too much. Calling one's own colleagues ‘cowards’ or ‘puppets’ wholesale and without qualifying, is the darnedest thing he can do,” he said.

Lacson was reacting to Trillanes’ comment that senators have been reduced to mere “puppets” under the Duterte administration for refusing to investigate the government’s supposed “abuses.”

“Itong Senado na dati ay ‘yan yung last bastion of democracy eh ngayon, wala na, para na rin kaming mga tuta nitong administrasyon na ’to. Ni ayaw mag-imbestiga eh,” Trillanes said.

He said the Senate, aside from the Philippine National Police (PNP), is one of the most damaged institutions since Duterte took office.

“‘Yung mga dapat sana na pumuna eh wala eh, sila yung mga bahag ang buntot,” Trillanes said.

In a separate text message, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said Trillanes should be careful in calling names.

“I do not know his reasons for saying that. He should be careful in calling us names. Hindi ko siya papatulan sa ngayon,” Sotto said.

Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, a close ally of Duterte, meanwhile said Trillanes was just seeking media attention.

“No comment. Heard that before a number of times. Why revive it just for him to be in the news?” Pimentel told reporters.

But Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said the Senate is less independent under the Duterte administration.

“As a third term senator, I have seen greater independence on the part of the Senate as an institution under previous administrations,” Pangilinan said in a text message to reporters. —ALG/RSJ, GMA News