Trillanes: I am not welcome at Senate impeachment court

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Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Friday the impeachment court should be asked why a subpoena was not issued for him to testify for the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a press conference, Trillanes said he was ready with his testimony.

"Nag-request ang prosecution ng mga isu-subpoena, my name was there last week. Bumalik 'yung mga subpoena ako lang ang wala. Meron bang power na ganyan ang iimpeachment court? May power ba ang presiding officer? They don't have that power kasi diskarte ng prosecution ito. Do not second guess kung ano ba ang itetestify niyan, pakinggan mo muna," he said.

(The prosecution requested for the subpoenas, I was included there last week. But when the subpeona returned, he was the only one left out. Does the impeachment court has that power. Does the presiding officer has that power? They don't have that power because it is a strategy of the prosecution. Do not second guess what will be testified, they should listen first.)

He added the issuance of a subpoena is ministerial.

"Again, bakit hindi mo inisyuhan ng subpoena si Trillanes? Kung ordinary witness ako, hindi niya ako kilala, 'di ba dapat, ano ba, sasabihin n'yo, o sige, gusto nung prosecution, eh di sige. Bakit hindi niya ini-issue? Huwag na tayo umikot pa," Trillanes said.

(Why was a subpoena not issued to me. If I am an ordinary witness whom they do not know, they would say the prosecution wants him to testify so okay, we will issue the subpoena. Why was the subpoena not issued?)

"Sa akin kasi the signal is clear, hindi ako welcome. And by the way, hindi ito collective na parang sinasabi kasi ayaw daw ako ng mga senador. Inisa-isa natin 'yung mga naabutan natin doon. Hindi naman sila nakonsulta kaya next time na may magsabi na kasi may mga ano yung mga senador, don't swallow it right away,” he added.

(For me, the signal is clear, I was not welcome, but this is not a collective sentiment. There were comments that senators do not like me. I asked my former colleagues, and they said they weren’t consulted. So next time someone says senators don’t like me, don’t swallow it right away.)

Trillanes then said that journalists could ask the senator-judges one by one to confirm his account.

“Tanungin ninyo, sino, kasi sabi nung iba hindi naman o kaya better yet, isa-isahin ninyo, Sir, ikaw ba'y kumukontra? Isa-isa ninyo. Ngayon makikita ninyo kung sino talaga ang kumukontra, di ba?,” he added.

(You should ask the senators one by one if they are the ones who are against me testifying for the prosecution.)

It can be recalled that Escudero did not issue a subpoena for Trillanes but said that such decision does not prevent the prosecution from presenting him as a voluntary witness.

The House prosecution panel then dropped Trillanes as one of its witnesses.

The prosecution is presenting evidence for Article 2 of the impeachment case against the Vice President alleging unexplained wealth due to alleged failure to truthfully disclose assets in her SALN and failure to divest in businesses as required for the President and Vice President under a Constitutional provision. —AOL, GMA News