Sara Duterte: Paolo, Mans did the right thing in suing Trillanes

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Friday said she supports her brother and her husband’s move to take Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to court.

“They are within their rights. I feel na what Trillanes did to them is too much, especially that my husband is a private individual. He is not a public official. He is not a public property. I support my husband and my brother in the case that they filed and I hope it will prosper,” Sara said in a briefing in Davao City.

“Maayo nga gibuhatan nila ug lakang nga mag-file ug case kay Trillanes [Good thing they made a step to file a case against Trillanes],” she added.

Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and lawyer Manases Carpio have filed a civil case against Trillanes “for damages” on Wednesday. The case was raffled off to Davao City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 under Judge Mario Duaves.

Trillanes, a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, had earlier linked Paolo Duterte and Carpio in the smuggling of P6.4 billion shabu from China into the country, being part of the so-called Davao Group involved in corruption at the Bureau of Customs.

Both Duterte and Carpio have denied Trillanes' allegation during the Senate inquiry into the matter.

Sara said her husband had informed her about the filing of the case before he left their house, but did not consult her beforehand.

She added that it was “correct” for her husband to “harass” Trillanes, reacting to the senator’s claim that the case was a “harassment suit.”

“Gi-harass man pud niya akong bana, so I guess correct lang pud na i-harass pud siya akoang bana. That’s why I feel kanang maayo about his lakang and his actions because I have been telling him katong mga panghitabo na—he should not keep quiet,” she said in a mix of English and Visayan.

“Kung awayun ka, dapat mangaway pud ka. Dili ka muhilom because dili man siya ang nauna. Dili man akong bana ang nauna. Siya [Trillanes] man and nauna,” she added.

[He also harassed my husband, so I guess it was just correct for my husband to harass him too. That’s why I feel good about his step and his actions because I have been telling him that what happened—he should not keep quiet. If they quarrel with you, you should fight back. You don’t keep quiet because it was not him who started this. It was not my husband who started this. It was Trillanes.]

Sara was also unfazed by Trillanes’ threat to run after the Dutertes, which he described as a “murderous and corrupt clan.”

“He better be sure also that forever naa pud siya sa power. Because kung ako nalang ang nasa power, dayon wala na siyay power, ipa-energize nato siya sa Davao Light,” she joked.

[He better be sure also that he will be forever in power. Because if I'm the only one left in power, and he doesn't have power, we'll have him energized at Davao Light.] —KBK, GMA News