Trillanes: BBC interview ‘proud moment’
MANILA – Despite the criticisms he got for his l ive i nterview with BBC’s “HARDtalk” host Stephen Sackur, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said on Tuesday it was “one of the proudest moments in my public life.”
During t he 24- minute interview, Sackur told Trillanes that his vocal criticism against the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte was “out of tune” with ordinary Filipino opinion.
Sackur told Trillanes he was “bashing your head against the brick wall” because the former Davao City mayor won the 2016 presidential election even with his admission to his link to a death squad (in some reports, Duterte denied this).
“It is what it is. People who watched the full interview — not the spliced one — are entitled to their own opinions. The haters will hate; the believers will believe,” the senator said in a statement.
Trillanes said he was proud of his BBC interview, “knowing the impact of the interview to the global audience and knowing now that HARDtalk is very popular yet the most difficult show got any guest.”
He also addressed those who called him out for speaking
against the President.
“Setting aside the trolls, the critics who have very negative feedback presume that they can do better. But we very well know that they cannot. So, we march forward.”
In the BBC interview, Trillanes reiterated his position against the government’s aggressive war against illegal drugs.
Only poor people, suspected users and drug pushers were being killed in the drug war, the senator said.
“(Duterte) has yet to touch the big-time drug lords, which were already mentioned in the lists of various law enforcement agencies,” he said.
“The bulk of the Filipino people are not really aware on the ground. The propaganda machine is very, very effective,” said Trillanes.
“The bulk of the Filipino public are busy with their day- to-day living. They don’t really get to know the magnitude of the damage Duterte has done,” he added./
PN