The President and the Senate now seem to be distancing themselves from Antonio Trillanes

With every day that passes, mutineer-turned-"senator" Antonio Trillanes IV exposes his true character and real lack of substance. More senior members of the Senate which Trillanes had only recently joined as a conditionally free man seem to be on to him. Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan are now pressing Trillanes to substantiate all of his insinuations about some sort of knowledge about corruption at the top most echelons of the military, specifically a shadowy figure supposedly behind ex-military comptroller Carlos Garcia whose unexplained wealth is the main subject of an on-going Senate "inquiry".

Trillanes had earlier claimed to have shared this "knowledge" with Malacanang, thereby involving the Executive branch in the burden of providing proof to back any further names that might be made public.

Obviously stung by the death of former Secretary and retired General Angelo Reyes, widely seen to be a result of what is perceived to be Trillanes's reckless behaviour during a Senate session that Reyes attended, the Senate seems to be distancing itself from Trillanes. "Senator" Trillanes has also shown a lack of understanding of the real point behind such Congressional inquiries which aim to aid in legislation and are not, as Trillanes seems to believe, meant for "catching" people (the job of the police, the prosecutors, and the Justice system).

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III too seems to have started distancing himself from the mutineer-"senator" and has denied through his mouthpieces ever having discussed any such shadowy figures with Trillanes...

The President said he did not get the information from Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who earlier indicated that he knew Garcia’s protector.

“I haven’t had any opportunity to talk to Sonny Trillanes,” Mr. Aquino told reporters.

The President said that his communication with Trillanes over the years had only been through letters, including one that was sent after the senator, who was on trial for attempting a power grab in 2003, was released from jail late last year when he was granted amnesty.

The President said the letter did not discuss “that topic” in reference to retired Navy Commodore Rex Robles’ claim that Trillanes had told Mr. Aquino that Angelo Reyes, former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, was not Garcia’s protector.

And even on the matter of Trillanes now saying that Reyes was "not Garcia's protector", the Inquirer.net noted this as a "flip flop" on his part as well, referring back to a previous report where Trillanes fingered Reyes as the man behind Garcia's alleged criminal activity...

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV Monday tried to wriggle out of his previous claim that the late former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes was the “powerful” person behind former military comptroller Carlos Garcia, but the Inquirer stood firm on the accuracy of its report.

[...]

On Feb. 2, the Inquirer carried a story in which Trillanes, in an interview with Senate reporters, identified Reyes as the powerful figure behind Garcia.

“I am naming him (Reyes),” Trillanes said in that media interview. That interview was taped.

Trillanes gave that answer when he was asked about a previous television interview in which he said that someone powerful—whom he did not identify then—was fronting for Garcia.

After all that and after a man accused under the less-than-ideal circumstances inherent in a Senate "inquiry" now lies dead and buried, Trillanes changes his mind...

After Reyes—who denied involvement in military corruption—committed suicide last week, Trillanes made a turnabout: He said that Reyes was not the “powerful” figure behind Garcia.

The Inquirer bannered Trillanes’ denial under the headline “Trillanes: It ain’t Reyes” [link added but not originally included in source].

In an interview on ANC network Monday, Trillanes said the Inquirer “got it wrong.”

Talking with Senate reporters after his ANC interview, Trillanes was categorically asked if he was denying that he had previously said that the former defense secretary and Armed Forces chief of staff was the powerful figure behind Garcia.

Trillanes avoided giving a direct answer, saying: “It will muddle everything again.”

Indeed, even as he balked at naming names following his grandstanding about his knowledge of the who's-whos of big-time Philippine military corruption, Trillanes went on to insinuate the involvement of former President and now House Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) in this nasty business.

[...] when pressed by reporters if the purported corruption in the military would reach the level of then President and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he said: “It’s not far-fetched. We’ll go wherever this will lead us.”

And now he is being pressed to present proof of that claim as well...

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo yesterday challenged Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to present evidence that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could be behind massive corruption in the Armed Forces.

“They (senators) are in the process of investigating this issue. Why don’t they just proceed with their investigation and see where it leads,” Arroyo said in a statement.

“If he (Trillanes) has suspicions which he could substantiate with concrete evidences, he should air that at the Senate investigation which, lest it be forgotten, is in aid of legislation,” he said.

Arroyo also asked Trillanes not to use his mother to gain media mileage.

“He (Trillanes) should not use the media as a launching pad for baseless statements. I would like to remind the good senator that the great power of parliamentary immunity comes with parliamentary courtesy,” he said.

Denials denials. Trillanes is becoming good at it now that he's painted himself into a corner (perhaps jail is now starting to look like a comfier option for him nowadays!). The mutineer-turned-"senator" is now blaming the media for "feeding" him the idea of GMA's involvement in this mess...

Trillanes said Arroyo's name was only fed to him by the media.

“Everybody heard that. I never named anybody. It was fed to me,” he told reporters on Monday.

What a guy.

Whatever the truth is on this matter, one thing's for sure: Trillanes is not a reliable custodian on any such information nor is he an appropriate channel for its dissemination. All the public has to gain from this "senator" is a bit of Wowowee style entertainment.