Nothing wrong even with a thousand consultants, Trillanes says

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong even if he hired 1,000 consultants.

The issue about Trillanes paying P1.63 million a month for 63 consultants was raised during the radio dzBB program “Ikaw Na ba? The Vice Presidential Interview” with anchor Mike Enriquez.

“Kahit isang libo ang consultant mo basta hindi ka lalagpas doon sa budget na ibinigay sa iyo plus ito ay hindi mo nilulustay at ito ay nagiging productive, pwede ho iyan,” said Trillanes, who is running for vice president in the May 2016 polls as an independent candidate.

“Sinasabi po marami akong consultants,” he said. “Aaminin ko po iyon pero ang tanong dito, ilan ba dapat?”

Trillanes, who was a Navy officer before he became a senator, said there are no guidelines on how many consultants they can hire.

Trillanes also claimed that the P400,000 monthly budget set by the Commission on Audit (COA) for consultants was not a limit but a suggestion.

He said all senators have the same budget and it is up to them to spend this according to the needs of their office.

“Maniwala po kayo, pare-parehas kami ng budget,” he said. “Ngayon saan mo gagamitin ang budget mo? May mga COA guidelines, pwede sa consultant, pwedeng pang-merienda, pwede sa gamit, pwede sa pagpapaiprenta mo…”

Trillanes said his office may have the biggest spending but it also has produced the most number of laws. “Opisina ko ho ang pinakamaraming naisabatas noong 2010 hanggang 2015,” he said.

When Enriquez cited accusations that Trillanes’ 63 consultants allegedly included his houseboy and drivers, Trillanes said, “Hindi ho totoo yan.”

He did admit that his consultants included his brother and his fellow Magdalo members.

In August last year, Trillanes admitted to GMA News Online that one of his consultants was his brother Juan Antonio Trillanes who represented him in “confidential meetings.”

Last year, Trillanes said his brother received “around P60,000 [monthly] and that is definitely not high.”

On the other hand, an Investigative Documentaries episode on GMA News TV on February 4 reported that Trillanes’ brother received P71,200 a month.

Political analyst Rowena Morales, said paying exorbitant consultation fees could be considered an abuse of power and abuse of right.

“Kung karapatan nga ng isang tao na kumuha ng consultants, at magbayad ayon sa budget, baka abuso na iyong ang laki-laki ng binibigay mo [sa consultants]," Morales said.

Not PhD holders

Meanwhile, Trillanes said on radio dzBB that the common concept is that consultants have PhDs or doctoral degrees.

However, he said consultants had to be hired depending on the kind of information that a senator needs.

“Ang kosepto po ng consultant sa Senado ay kapag puno na yung plantilla position mo, pwede nang kumuha ng additional na tao na ipapasok mo as consultant,” Trillanes said.

However, Trillanes, head of the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, said the consultants he needed were security and intelligence experts.

“Dumami po ang aming consultant nung panahon na nag-iinvestigate, Ginamit ko po sa surveillance,” said Trillanes, who is also the head of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security.

Trillanes said his office could only tackle “one political monster at a time.”

At present, Trillanes’ office has trained its eye on Vice President Jejomar Binay. Trillanes was the one who filed the resolution calling for the probe on the alleged overpricing in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II during the time of Binay sa mayor.

This led to a series of Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearings. In June last year, the Senate panel recommended the filing of plunder charges against Binay; his son Junjun, former Makati Mayor, and 10 others for alleged overpricing that ranged from P1.124 billion to P1.389 billion, an act that constitutes plunder.

Libel case

During his radio dzBB interview on Tuesday, Trillanes was with his lawyer. The senator had just arrived in the country from the US and had to post bail for libel charges immediately after the radio interview.

The libel case was filed against him by Junjun after Trillanes commented last year that the young Binay allegedly bribed justices of the Court of Appeals to get a temporary restraining order on the six-month preventive suspension order issued by the Ombudsman in 2015.

A warrant of arrest was issued against Trillanes while he was in the US. He posted bail on Tuesday to avoid arrest. -NB, GMA News