Trillanes Spends $73,000 Taxpayers’ Money During His US Trip

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV allegedly spent around $73,000 (or roughly around P3.8 million) taxpayers' money during his recent visit in United States of America. The Liberal Party (LP) ally senator had speaking engagements in forums with the Filipino community in Los Angeles, California, Washington, DC, and Chicago, Illinois.

“Grabe ang traffic, grabe ang urban poor, pati ang basura hindi maayos na makolekta. It’s a typical Filipino city.” Sen, Trillanes said in his press conference in Chicago, referring to Davao City. Apparently, this is contrary to earlier reports, saying that Davao City is the one of the safest cities in the world, and even landed on the 5th spot.

“Ngayon, hinawakan niya (President Duterte) ito for more than 20 years. Palagay ko kahit sino sa room na ito ang bigyan ng pagkakataon na mamuno ng isang syudad for more than 20 years will do better. Definitely and without killing people,” he added. The former leader of the Oakwood mutiny also showed some data to prove his claim.

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“In fact, based on the statistics, Davao City is the most dangerous city in the Philippines,” Trillanes continued, noting that Duterte brainwashed the residents of the city. Based on the data, which he said came from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Davao has the highest number of rape and crime cases from 2010 to 2015, during the past administration.

This Tuesday, the Davao City Council led by Davao City Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag declared Sen. Trillanes declared as "persona non grata," which means that the senator is not allowed to enter Davao City. He noted that Davao City received the Seal of Good Local Governance in 2011 and 2015 from former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Meanwhile, an insider from the office of Sen. Trillanes said that the senator has allotted P4.5 million (around $86,400) for his recent 2-week trip to the US. This allegedly includes hotel accommodations, food, and expenses for his staff and 5 bodyguards. And because he said that the senator has already spend $73,000 as of today, he still has $12,000 taxpayers' money to burn.



“Actually, malalaman natin kung mauubos nya yung allotted budget nya pag balik nya ng bansa. Magiging transparent naman kami, kaya makakaasa ang publiko na wala kaming itatago dahil lahat naman ng expenses niya ay may resibo.” The insider said, who requested anonymity, without saying when Trillanes will return to the country.

Contributed by Renato Pasayao