MANILA — Malacañang on Thursday said that it respects the action taken by the Pasay Prosecutor’s Office, charging Senator Antonio Trillanes IV with inciting for sedition.
“We respect the findings of our Pasay prosecutor on this,” Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
In a resolution on Thursday, the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office approved the filing of a sedition case against Trillanes in court.
Trillanes, in a privilege speech October last year, urged the military to shoot President Rodrigo R. Duterte in relation to the Chief Executive’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.
“Kung makikita ito ng mga sundalo, M60 na machine gun gagamitin sa ‘yo kasi marami-rami ito. Mauubos yung magasin kung PHP40 million ang hinahanap mo (If the soldiers see this, they will use an M60 machine gun on you because these are many. The magazines will be emptied if you’re looking for PHP40 million),” Trillanes said in his speech.
Duterte earlier said that he was willing to be shot if he has more than PHP40 million in his bank accounts.
Trillanes, on the other hand, said that he is ready to face the charges.
Roque earlier said that the bank accounts of Duterte are open to the public except to Trillanes.
“Malinaw na paulit-ulit na sinasabi ni Presidente, wala siyang tinatago. Ang ayaw lang niya, buksan ni Trillanes (The President has repeatedly said that he’s not hiding anything. What he doesn’t want is for Trillanes to open them),” Roque said.
Roque earlier said the Ombudsman has the power to open Duterte’s bank accounts even without the permission of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Trillanes, who filed a complaint in connection with Duterte’s alleged ill-gotten wealth, claimed that the Ombudsman junked the investigation because the AMLC refused to cooperate.
“So kung gugustuhin po, nagawa na rin po siguro, nakita na po siguro yan ng Ombudsman kung ano ang bank accounts ni Presidente Duterte (So if the Ombudsman wanted, or the Ombudsman could have probably checked President Duterte’s bank accounts already),” he added.