Senator Antonio Trillanes IV belittled the turnout of supporters of the Duterte administration in a rally in Luneta last Saturday (Feb.25) saying that the so-called “show of force” fell short of the highly-touted one million crowd.
He even went on to insinuate that the supporters who gathered in Luneta were either paid or hauled by local government officials.
“Kung ikaw nasa government, ang payat yung 200,000. Inobliga mo na yung mga local government na maghakot ng tao, 200,000 lang na produce mo? Kumbaga mahina yun,” he said.
“Hindi naman mangyayari mga ganyan kung hindi mo sila binigyan ng transportation (allowance) etc. Malamang meron din naman dyan mga kusa (nagpunta) pero malaki na 5,000. Kita nyo may mga bus dun,” he said, referring to the government transportation provided for the attendees.
Curiously, the senator refused to use the same standard in assessing the potency of the 31st EDSA People Power celebration on the other side of town.
An estimated 6,000 participants showed up in what organizers dubbed as as “Power of We” event in Edsa.
“Sa akin hindi yan nakikita dyan (sa dami ng crowd),” he said.
