Trillanes black propaganda divides opposition, but favors BBM, Sara

“Trapos” – traditional politicos – go by personas, not principles. That showed anew in last week’s mad rush to impeach VP Sara Duterte.

Sara’s 240 congressmen-accusers treat her as top opponent, although she keeps saying she doesn’t think Admin or Opposition.

An issue-based third force is striving to organize. Its EDSA Shrine rally on Jan. 31 was against all plundering pols, dynasts and election cheaters.

But trapo ex-senator Antonio Trillanes slandered and dispirited it. So President Bongbong Marcos and VP Sara remain central frenemies. People are being made to choose one or the other.

The third force calls itself Clergy and Citizens for Good Governance. CC4GG denounces BBM and his Senate-House Supermajorities for the most corrupt national budget ever this 2025. As well, Sara’s unexplained, undocumented use of P612.5-million confidential funds in 2022-2023.

It embodies the thinking class’ growing disgust with dirty dynastic politics, whether BBM or Sara.

Trillanes disliked CC4GG’s “Resign All!” rallying cry. Pro-BBM, he disclosed last November to be advising him on brewing military restiveness. For him, the only target should be Sara.

Days before the EDSA Shrine afternoon rally, Trillanes announced a morning gathering at People Power Monument a kilometer away also for Jan. 31. Its sole demand: “Impeach Sara!”

He accused CC4GG of being infiltrated by “pro-Duterte generals.” Singled out was former information-communication technology undersecretary Eliseo Rio, who once temporarily acted as secretary under Sara’s father president Rody Duterte.

Soft-spoken Rio belied Trillanes. In fact he had resigned in 2020 due to Duterte’s inaction on his exposé of DICT confidential-intelligence fund misuse.

These days Rio is busy researching the 2022 electronic election fraud that brought UniTeam’s BBM and Sara to power. His Truth and Transparency Trio has exposed the improbability of 20 million-plus votes, or 37 percent of ballots, counted within the first hour.

Rio discovered Comelec’s use of an unauthorized Private IP Address 192.168.0.2 for results transmission. With TNT Trio are former Comelec commissioner Gus Lagman and ex-Financial Executives Institute president Franklin Ysaac, both computer experts. Rio once headed the AFP communications electronic command.

Trillanes wasn’t the only black propagandist against CC4GG. Militarists claimed that Communists were main mobilizers of the EDSA Shrine rally.

Yet how could that happen when among CC4GG organizers are retired AFP and PNP generals and colonels?

Also on Jan. 31 afternoon was a separate rally at Liwasang Bonifacio, Manila. Students and faculty members of Manila universities also called for the step down of BBM, his Supermajority senators and congressmen and Sara.

They supposedly were led by National Democrats. NatDems are the favorite targets of militarists for red tagging as Communists. The Constitution guarantees freedom of belief, but forbids armed rebellion.

CC4GG’s rally reportedly mustered 10,000. Among its prime movers are Catholic Bishops Colin Bagaforo and Gerardo Alminaza. Also Council of Evangelical Churches cofounder Bishop Ephraim Tendero. And “running priest” Father Robert Reyes.

Sixty-three cause-oriented groups signed up with CC4GG. Among them, 1Sambayan of retired Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio and ex-Bangko Sentral deputy governor Diwa Guinigundo. Also Alyansa ng Nagkaka-Isang Mamamayan of police-military retirees, professionals, women, youth and NGOs. Plus two political parties: Akbayan and Sanlakas.

Main speakers were Carpio, UP economics Prof. Cielo Magno and former Audit commissioner Heidi Mendoza.

Trillanes’ morning event gathered less. He reportedly was absent, and a Magdalo partymate had to deliver his speech.

Trillanes, as a Navy lieutenant, had rebelled against president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July 2003. He couldn’t prove his denunciations of military corruption. (My exposé in October 2004 of AFP comptroller-general Carlos Garcia’s P302-million plunder led to jail terms and reform of AFP procurements.)

In 2010 then-Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile sought newly elected senator Trillanes’ release to his custody. Trillanes was freed from seven-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.

In September 2012 Trillanes bolted from Enrile’s majority. The latter was then in the process of investigating him for pro-China Communist Party stance in the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

Enrile discovered that Trillanes flew to Beijing six times and met CCP leaders 16 times. Overplaying his role as then-president Noynoy Aquino’s backchannel, Trillanes badmouthed then-foreign secretary Albert del Rosario and claimed that Filipinos don’t care about losing Scarborough.

In October 2014 Trillanes led the political demolition of then-VP Jejomar Binay at the Senate. Before that he accused Binay of backing out from supporting him in a 2007 mutiny again against GMA.

In April 2015 Trillanes asked Rody Duterte to make him 2016 VP runningmate. Duterte turned him down. During the 2016 campaign Trillanes accused Duterte of P200-million secret bank deposits.

Sara’s camp too engages in black propaganda. A recent victim was Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan.

A former Sara supporter, Suan signed for her impeachment last week. Whereupon a fake fan page made it look like Suan switched sides to wangle political ayuda. (I mistakenly quoted the fake news Friday for which I apologize.)

Suan had exposed the fake page as far back as November 2024, yet oddly it stayed online. It was taken down last weekend, but another fake took its place. (Also as odd, Peoples Tonight owned by the family of Speaker Martin Romualdez published the letter of Suan’s aide to The STAR, as if the former has anything to do with the latter newspaper.)

*      *      *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8 to 10 a.m., dwIZ (882-AM).

Follow me on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/Jarius-Bondoc