MANILA, Philippines - Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday said that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile committed a blunder when he assumed that the controversial notes of Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady were made during a meeting with Chinese diplomats.
"First, JPE wrongly assumed that Ambassador Sonia Brady purportedly took those notes down while I was meeting with the Chinese officials. For the record, she was never present in any of the backchannel talks conducted," Trillanes said in a statement posted in the Senate's website.
Trillanes said that his "first and only" official meeting with Brady was held last August 17 at the Philippine Embassy in Beijing. He said that he requested for the meeting, which was also attended by a member of his staff and Philippine Consul Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq.
"I arranged for that meeting, specifically, to brief her (Brady) about the background and status of the backchannel talks since she just reported at the embassy sometime in early August," the senator said.
He added: "During our private meeting, we were only accompanied by Philippine Consul Evangeline Ong Jimenez-Ducrocq and a member of my staff, but, definitely, there were no Chinese officials present."
Short of accusing Trillanes as a traitor, Enrile said that the younger senator was "protecting the Chinese," based on the notes by Brady.
Trillanes said that he sees nothing wrong about conducting a briefing with Brady. The senator did not say what was the actual discussion he had with Brady during the meeting.
Trillanes remarked that Enrile committed a mistake in reading the Brady notes during last week's session at the Senate.
“(Enrile) brazenly exposed state secrets just to spite me and it eventually blew up on his face,” Trillanes said.
Enrile had initially thought that President Aquino was not aware of the backchannel talks being conducted by Trillanes.
Aquino had admitted allowing Trillanes to hold the backchannel negotiations with the Chinese regarding the two countries' dispute over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal.
The President had also said that despite Enrile's revelations, Trillanes would remain as the country's representative in the backchannel negotiations with the Chinese.
Trillanes said in a radio interview Monday morning that he has yet to receive instructions from President Aquino to stop the negotiations.
“I will remain backchannel negotiator until President Aquino and I speak … If I am still helpful in these matters, then I will (continue to bridge the talks). But if not, that’s okay,” Trillanes said.
Senator Franklin Drilon, an ally of President Aquino in the Senate, said in a radio interview on Sunday that he was “saddened” by the recent events in the Senate.
Drilon said that Enrile could have been just angry at the time when he revealed the contents of the Brady notes.
"Siguro medyo mainit lang ang ulo ni SJPE (Senator Juan Ponce Enrile) kaya yung Brady notes ay nailabas. Nangyari't nangyari na iyan, ang pagdedebatehan na lang natin ay kung tama o hindi, pero sana hindi na mangyari ulit," he said.
Drilon, meanwhile, explained that Aquino has the power to conduct foreign relations and therefore has the privilege to appoint backchannel negotiators, who will carry the same message as the Department of Foreign Affairs.