Sen. Richard Gordon branded Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV a “recidivist” in his ethics complaint citing incidents in the past to prove that his recent unparliamentary conduct was not isolate.
Gordon said he would establish a “pattern of unbecoming conduct and insulting language” of Trillanes in his skirmishes with colleagues like Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, then senator and now Foreign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano and another also with Gordon during the Senate justice committee’s hearing on extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
Gordon said Trillanes committed a violation in the Revised Penal Code, disturbing the proceedings of the justice committee, when he feuded with Cayetano and Trillanes turned off the microphone when Cayetano was interrogating EJK whistleblower Edgar Matobato.
Gordon said this incident showed Trilanes’ utter disrespect for a fellow senator and of the proceedings which were within the purview of the grounds enumerated under Sec. 18, Rule 3 of the Rules of the committee on ethics and privileges.
Trillanes, three days after, apologized to Cayetano for his uncalled for demeanor and even promised that such incident would not happen again.
Trillanes “patched up” with Cayetano one last time during the latter’s last day in the Senate last May 16.
Gordon also brought up an incident last Jan. 17 when a fistfight occurred between Trillanes and Zubiri.
Trillanes accused Zubiri and Gordon of allegedly attempting to whitewash the investigation on the Bureau of Immigration (BI) bribery scandal.
Cooler heads intervened and Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III moved to strike off the record Trillanes’ and Zubiri’s unpleasant and unparliamentary exchange and the two later on shook hands.
Gordon cited an incident where he had an argument with Trillanes when the senator “clandestinely and deviously extricated and removed Matobato away from the Senate premises without the knowledge of the committee.”
This was during justice committee’s investigation on EJK and when Gordon then already took over the chairmanship from Sen. Leila de Lima.
The two decided to let bygones be bygones when Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III interceded and has Trillanes apologize to Gordon.
“He apologized at that time (in my office) and I acceded out of respect to the Senate president. However, he still continued to manifest disorderly conduct and behavior. I may have forgiven but I have not forgotten and true enough, he attacked me again,” Gordon said in his 23-page complaint.
“Senators are expected to be beyond reproach and to abide by the highest standards of conduct, Trillanes has shown that he is incorrigible by exhibiting that, even after he was forgiven, he would do his transgressions again,” he added.
