Trillanes, inaming sinusuwelduhan ang kaniyang kapatid bilang consultant

Inamin ni Senador Antonio Trillanes nitong Miyerkules na isa sa mga consultant niya ang kaniyang kapatid na sumasahod ng P60,000.00 bawat buwan.
 
“Yes, he’s one of my consultants. I designate him as my representative during confidential meetings,” saad sa text message sa GMA News Online ni Trillanes.
 
Ang tinutukoy ng senador na kapatid ay si Juan Antonio Trillanes.
 
“He is getting around P60,000 and that is definitely not high,” dagdag ni Sen Trillanes.
 
Una rito, hinamon ng kampo ni Vice President Jejomar Binay si Trillanes na ipaliwanag ang pagkuha umano ng mga "overprice" consultant,  kabilang ang kaniyang kapatid.
 
Ayon kay Atty. Rico Quicho, spokesperson for political affairs ni Binay, batay sa Senate documents na nakuha ng isang pahayagan, mayroon umanong 55 consultant si Trillanes na sinuwelduhan ng P7.5 milyon, mas mataas sa itinatakdang pondo sa pagkuha ng mga consultant na umaabot lang sa P3.04 milyon.
 
Patuloy ng abogado, tumatanggap umano ang kapatid ni Trillanes P71,200 na sahod bawat buwan bilang consultant, o halos kalahating milyon (P427,000.00) sa loob ng anim na buwan (July to December) noong nakaraang taon.
  
Puna ni Quicho, Trillanes "should not be too onion-skinned if the people demand that he explain such exorbitant expense for his consultants."
 
Patuloy nito, "Senators often blab that a public office is a public trust but when it comes to Senator Trillanes, he lacks transparency and accountability for his actions. Often, he hides from it. If the consultancy fees cannot be justified, then we cannot help but conclude his consultants were overpriced."
 
Noong Mayo, nagpadala ng memorandum ang Commission on Audit kay Senate President Franklin Drilon para hingin ang paliwanag sa P231.88 milyon na ginastos ng kapulungan sa mga consultant noong 2014.
 
Pinuna sa memo ni supervising auditor Mario Lipana, mayroong umanong mga senador na gumastos ng higit sa itinakdang pondo na laan sa pagkuha ng mga consultant.
 
“Analysis of subsidiary ledger account consultancy services which mostly consists of expenses for consultancy services of different offices of senators reveals that there were several senators’ offices that exceed the budgetary allocations," saad ng COA.
 
Idinagdag pa na: “Further review of the accounts including the corresponding liquidation documents for the senators’ cash advances and the disbursements vouchers for the claims for consultancy services paid directly through check, disclosed that the reason for exceeding the budgetary allocation for the said account is due to hiring of many consultants wherein a Senator’s office hired more than 60 consultants and also of giving a consultants’ rate as high as P94,000 per month."
 
Gayunman, walang pangalan na tinukoy ang COA sa kanilang ulat.
 
Ipinaliwanag ni Drilon na malaya ang mga senador nang panahon iyon na kumuha ng consultant na makatutulong sa kanilang trabaho alinsunod sa nakatakdang pondo.
 
“The matter of hiring consultants is a prerogative of each senator. The consultancy agreement and the number of consultants, and who these consultants are, are not cleared with my office. I do not sign any consultancy agreements,” ani Drilon. — FRJ, GMA News