Davao City First District Paolo “Pulong” Duterte scoffed at former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV branding him “sundalong kanin” following the latter’s filing of drug smuggling case against him.
Trillanes recently filed a drug smuggling case before the Department of Justice against Duterte, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, and several other personalities for allegedly involvement in the P6.4 billion shabu shipment from China seized in Valenzuela City in 2017.
“I welcome Antonio Trillanes’ filing of drug smuggling case against me. This is a welcome development, mas maganda ito dahil sa Korte ng Pilipinas ang pagdinig at hindi sa korte ng Facebook at utak ng isang trililing na sundalong kanin,” Rep. Pulong said.
The lawmaker said this move will allow them to address these accusations through the proper legal channels, ensuring that the truth will prevail.
“I have always maintained my innocence, and I am confident that the judicial process will clear my name. It is important to rely on our legal institutions rather than resorting to trial by publicity or baseless allegations. Please bear in mind that this is a similar case that Mr. Trillanes has made a fool out of himself when he presented his alleged evidence against me…. as a mercenary. I am not surprised who Mr. Trillanes has once again fooled to fund this desperate attempt to peddle this baseless story to the Filipino people,” Rep. Pulong said.
Rep. Pulong added that he is also looking forward to the resolution of the libel cases he filed against Trillanes.
In 2017, Rep. Pulong and Carpio filed a civil case against Trillanes for involving them in the smuggling issue.
In 2018, Rep. Pulong was mulling filing another criminal and civil libel case against Trillanes for implicating him in the shabu shipment smuggling issue.
