MANILA - Malacañang on Monday fired back at Senator Antonio Trillanes IV after the fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte called the chief executive “baliw” (crazy).

Trillanes last week lambasted Duterte for supposedly fueling injustice in the country through his violent rhetoric towards women, state auditors, and bishops.

He issued this statement after state prosecutors charged him with grave threats for his alleged confrontation with Labor Undersecretary Jacinto Paras.

• Trillanes faces grave threats case over 'face off' with labor exec

“Binaliktad na talaga ni Duterte ang hustisya sa Pilipinas… tapos ako ang pinakasuhan nyang grave threats sa mga bata nya? Baliw talaga,” Trillanes said in a statement.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Trillanes “must have been referring to himself and correctly so” when he called Duterte crazy.

“The December 2018 Pulse Asia rating should serve as a timely reminder to the rabid political opposition, especially to the loose cannonball critic, outgoing Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, that the continuous assaults against the President and his administration are falling flat on their faces with the rise of PRRD’s approval and trust ratings,” Panelo said in a statement.

“Senator Trillanes' latest attack against the President, even calling him ‘baliw’, because criminal charges have been filed against him for his transgressions is a distorted if not a fallacious argumentation.”

Panelo said the administration expects more attacks against the President and his allies as the election season nears.

“The handwriting on the wall as graphically shown by the survey figures is glaring. Our people are fed up with the destructive politicking dished out by the opposition and PRRD’s critics and detractors. Filipinos want to maintain the visible and continuing genuine change, as well as the tangible results they are witnessing and experiencing under the current leadership of the President,” Panelo said.

“For a change and for the good of the nation, we urge the political opposition to engage the administration in a healthy debate of programs and platforms productive and beneficial to the Filipino people.”