Trillanes’ firm offered services to Reyes

A research company partly owned by Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV had offered to do a survey for Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes.

This fact surfaced yesterday in the course of the Senate hearing on the complaints of corruption and other evils in the bureaucracy and society by young military officers who participated in the July 27 failed coup in Makati City.

In the course of the hearing in the morning, it was Senate President Franklin Drilon who exposed the existence of FYI Research and Consulting Group Inc. that Trillanes, fellow mutineer Capt. Louie Gonzales and three friends organized in July 2002.

Trillanes, testifying yesterday before a Senate inquiry into the July 27 mutiny, admitted that he was an incorporator of the company and initially acted as its treasurer.

When asked when they had offered their services to Reyes or the Armed Forces, Trillanes said he could not remember. For his part, Reyes said he could recall that his administrative officer, Maj. Edgardo de Leon, had discussed an offer from FYI with him.

Reyes said as far as he could remember, the offer was to include a question in a political survey that FYI was to conduct.

"But I do not recall having signed any contract or paid any amount in connection with this," said the defense secretary, who plans to run for president or senator in the May 2004 elections.

The revelation prompted Drilon to summon De Leon to attend the afternoon hearing.

Before putting questions to De Leon, Drilon asked Trillanes about a hypothetical case.

"If a bureau director in the Department of Justice who owns a paper trading company offers to supply bond paper to the DOJ, that would be a corrupt and an immoral act," he said. Trillanes agreed with his statement.

Drilon then called on De Leon, who testified that FYI offered services to Reyes for P25,000 a month in April this year and reiterated such offer one month later.

De Leon said Reyes asked him to just ignore it. At that time, Gonzales, another incorporator of FYI, was working for Reyes’ speech-writing and research group.

Confronted with the revelation of Reyes’ administrative officer, Trillanes and Gonzales said they were not aware of the offer since they were not directly involved in their company’s business.

They said it is company president Rolando Averilla who is running it.