Trillanes won't apologize over 'puppet' remark: 'Huwag naman tayo masyadong maarte'

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday refused to apologize for calling senators in the majority “puppets” and “cowards,” saying his colleagues should not be overly sensitive to criticism.

“Why should I apologize for what I think is true? They may not like the language that I used but it won’t deflect from the fact that what I said was my observation and what I believe was true,” Trillanes told reporters in an interview.

“Mga political figures tayo dito eh. Huwag naman tayo masyadong maarte,” he said.

Last week, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said an apology would be an “honorable way out” for Trillanes. Sotto said this after Senator JV Ejercito raised the possibility of filing an ethics complaint against Trillanes.

Trillanes, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, earlier said the Senate has been reduced to mere “puppets” as some senators refuse to investigate the alleged abuses of the administration.

In a separate interview, Senator Sonny Angara said his colleagues should just “let it go.”

“Kanya-kanya kaming pananaw dito. We are 23 senators. If he wants to insult his colleagues, that’s up to him, di ba?” Angara said, adding that he does not feel offended by Trillanes' remarks.

Angara said however that he would “respect” the call of his colleagues for a possible ethics investigation on Trillanes’ statements.

Senator Nancy Binay, for her part, said she no longer listens to Trillanes’ statements, calling it a “waste of time.”

“Hindi na ko nakikinig kapag siya ang nagsasalita...Parang mas marami pang pwedeng pagtuunan ng panahon at dapat pakinggan,” she said.

Trillanes was among the senators who led the Senate investigation on the alleged corruption of Binay's father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, and brother, former Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, during the previous Congress. —KBK, GMA News