Bam Aquino on arrest order vs. Trillanes: ‘Kahirapan ang kalaban, hindi ang oposisyon’

Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino on Tuesday slammed the arrest order issued against his colleague, Senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV, saying that poverty and the rising prices of commodities are the real enemies and not the members of the political opposition.

"Kahirapan at taas-presyo ang kalaban, hindi ang oposisyon. Ang panawagan namin sa administrasyon: Tama na, sobra na ang pananakot at intimidasyon," Aquino said in a statement.

Aquino said that due to the administration's move to silence Trillanes, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, the pressing issues hounding the country have been set aside.

"Taumbayan ang nakakalimutan habang pinipilit na patahimikin si Sen. Trillanes at iba pang kritiko ng gobyerno. Habang nag-aaway-away, ang mga pangunahing isyu ng taumbayan ang nababalewala’t naiiwan," the senator said.

‘Perverts justice system’

In a separate statement, cause-oriented group Tindig Pilipinas emphasized that the Duterte administration has decided to "reach its authoritarian playbook against all logic" as they managed to obtain an arrest warrant against Trillanes.

Tindig Pilipinas said this "perverts the justice system" of the country.

"Congratulations, Mr. Duterte, hindi na lamang ang mahirap ang nakakaranas ng kawalan ng hustisya, pati na rin ang mga senador. Subali't magkaiba pa rin di ba? Para sa mga senador--kulong dahil kumontra. Para sa mahihirap---kamatayan dahil nanlaban," the group said.

"But know this, you can no longer change the narrative. No amount of fear mongering, fake news and suppression of dissent can fill our people's stomachs nor resurrect their murdered dead," Tindig Pilipinas added.

"Nahahalata na po ng taumbayan na wala silang maasahan sa gobyernong ito kundi bukbok, bugok at tepok," it added.

Earlier, Judge Elmo Alameda of the Makati Regional Trial Court's Branch 150 granted the Department of Justice's motion for the issuance of a warrant of arrest and a hold departure order against Trillanes.

Duterte "revoked" Trillanes' amnesty in late August over his staunch critic's alleged failure to comply with two minimum requirements: filing an application and admitting his guilt.

Trillanes deemed Duterte's move as "political persecution." — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News