Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/07/08/duterte-trillanes.jpg"/><figcaption>This composite image shows President Rodrigo Duterte and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Simeon Celi, Presidential Photos/George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News </figcaption></figure></div> MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s newly appointed adviser on Thursday hurled personal insults at former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who in turn stood by his allegation that the Philippine leader and an ally were involved in corruption. Duterte has appointed former lawmaker Jacinto &quot;Jing&quot; Paras as Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs, Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque announced. Roque told Paras in a Palace press briefing, &quot;Congratulations po. And because you are the adviser on political affairs, pakisabi nga po sa buong sambayanang Pilipino what do we think of former senator Sonny Trillanes?&quot; (Please tell the whole Filipino nation, what do we think of former senator Sonny Trillanes?)Paras thanked Duterte and said he would &quot;do well with this job,&quot; before calling Trillanes a &quot;non-entity.&quot; &quot;Nakatsamba lang naman itong taong ito na naging senador dahil at that time, the opposition was gaining ground. Pero under normal circumstances, baka magiging kulelat &#x27;yan parati,&quot; said Paras. (This person only became a senator because at that time, the opposition was gaining ground. But under normal circumstances, he would always be a loser.)Trillanes is a former Navy officer who led a failed 2003 coup attempt against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. From detention, he won in the 2007 Senate elections, when Arroyo was languishing in popularity polls due to alleged corruption and poll fraud. Trillanes recently drew fresh ire from Duterte, after accusing the President and his former longtime aide Sen. Christopher Go of plundering P6 billion from public coffers. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1720999" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>Paras said this allegation had no basis. &quot;&#x27;Wag nating tuunan ng pansin,&quot; he added. (Let&#x27;s not pay attention to it.)Paras called the latter &quot;dumbo,&quot; &quot;stupid&quot;, &quot;the most corrupt senator that ever lives&quot;, and &quot;Trililing.&quot;The last tag is a play on the former senator&#x27;s surname, meant to mock him as mentally unstable. In 2017, President Duterte also used this tag against Trillanes, who at that time, said he would not &quot;stoop down&quot; to name-calling. <div> CORRUPTION </div>In a text message, Trillanes said the tirades against him &quot;are the actions and responses of people who cannot directly confront the allegations against them.&quot;&quot;Iniiba ang usapan,&quot; he said. &quot;Ang bottomline is, according to COA (Commission on Audit) documents, nag-award si Duterte sa construction company ng tatay at kapatid ng alalay niyang si Bong Go ng 184 projects amounting to P6.6 billion. Maliwanag na plunder &#x27;yan.&quot;(They are changing the topic. The bottomline is, according to COA documents, Duterte awarded 185 projects amounting to P6.6 billion to the construction company that belongs to the father and sibling of his aide Bong Go. That is clearly plunder.) Go has dismissed this as a &quot;rehashed issue&quot; with &quot;fabricated or bloated&quot; figures. He said his relatives&#x27; transactions &quot;went through public bidding and proper procurement procedures in accordance with our laws.&quot; Duterte, meanwhile, said Trillanes had &quot;illusions of grandeur&quot; and just wanted to &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/07/21/duterte-trillanes-pacquiao-corruption">hold power</a>.&quot; Duterte in 2016 won on a campaign against drugs, crime, and corruption.But his administration has been dogged by scandals and allegations of graft and cover-ups in state agencies ranging from prisons, the state insurer, immigration, airports and customs, to police and the drugs enforcement agency, few of which led to convictions or high-profile resignations.The Philippines fell 14 notches to 113th spot among 180 countries in Transparency International&#x27;s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2019. Last year, the country further slipped to 115th. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/02/21/ph-slips-to-115th-place-in-global-corruption-index">PH slips to 115th place in global corruption index</a></li></ul><div> WHO IS JING PARAS? </div>Paras has filed cases of <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/10/20/trillanes-bikoy-face-sedition-raps-for-linking-duterte-to-drug-trade">inciting to sedition</a> against Trillanes. Paras was also a complainant in the 2017 <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/23/17/impeachment-rap-filed-vs-comelec-chief-in-house">impeachment case</a> that did not prosper against then poll chairman Andres Bautista. In 2017, Paras was presumably the &quot;Cong. Jing&quot; who figured in a text conversation with then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, who allegedly said cases against <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/25/17/wiretapping-kidnapping-raps-filed-vs-hontiveros">Sen. Risa Hontiveros</a> must be expedited. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1723125" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>During the Duterte administration, Paras previously served as labor undersecretary and presidential assistant under the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office. As Duterte political adviser, Paras said he was tasked &quot;to coordinate the legislative and political coalition liaising and constituency building efforts of the Office of the President.&quot; — With a report from Reuters

President Rodrigo Duterte's newly appointed adviser on Thursday hurled personal insults at former Sen. Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes, who in turn stood by his allegation that the Philippine leader and an ally were involved in corruption.

President Rodrigo Duterte's newly appointed adviser on Thursday hurled personal insults at former Sen. Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes, who in turn stood by his allegation that the Philippine leader and an ally were involved in corruption.

New Duterte adviser hits Trillanes, ex-senator stands firm on plunder exposé

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New Duterte adviser hits Trillanes, ex-senator stands firm on plunder exposé

Jamaine Punzalan,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 08, 2021 05:11 PM PHT

Read More:

Jing Paras

Trillanes

Trillanes Bong Go

Trillanes Duterte

Trillanes 2022

Duterte 2022

Bong Go 2022

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Trillanes Go frigate

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