Trillanes: Only sycophants, gullible will appreciate Duterte’s SONA

Only “sycophants” and “the gullible” will appreciate President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA), Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Tuesday.

In a statement, Trillanes pointed out Duterte’s contradicting statements and policies.

“He said he hates the Communists yet he hasn't fired the communists in his cabinet,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes was referring to Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano and Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, who are both allied with the Left. Both secretaries have yet to hurdle the Commission on Appointments (CA).

In his SONA, Duterte reiterated that he is no longer interested to talk peace with the Reds. “Kayong mga Left, I will not talk to you. Why should I?” he said.

Trillanes also slammed Duterte for admitting that he has killed people during his term as city mayor, and for having “no clear anti-poverty and economic agenda.”

“He said he hates corruption yet he never launched any anti-corruption program the past year. Worse, he released GMA (former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) and buried Marcos (former President Ferdinand Marcos) at the Libingan ng mga Bayani,” Trillanes said.

“He ranted again about illegal drugs and has killed thousands of lowly users and pushers but the top drug lords like Peter Lim have yet to be arrested. Overall, the SONA sounded like a campaign speech that only sycophants and the gullible would appreciate,” he added.

Trillanes, a staunch critic of President Duterte, did not attend the SONA held at the Batasang Pambansa Complex on Monday.

Duterte delivered a fiery SONA going off the cuff to go on profanity-laced tangents about his critics even as he took time to make a push for his legislative agenda. —KG/KVD, GMA News