“Ask him to spell gullible.”

This was how Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III reacted on Tuesday to Senator Antonio Trillanes’ statement that “only sycophants and the gullible” would appreciate President Rodrigo Duterte’s state of the nation address on Monday.

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READ: Trillanes: Only ‘sycophants, gullible’ like Duterte Sona

“Single digit lang ang same thinking as them,” Sotto added in a text message.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, in a separate text earlier, also brushed aside Trillanes’ remark.

“He is entitled to his own jadedness,” Lacson said.

READ: Lacson says Duterte unlike other presidents, vows support

Trillanes, an opposition member, snubbed Duterte’s Sona but slammed his speech anyway.

He insinuated, for instance, that Duterte’s own admission that he killed people when he was Davao mayor continued with his bloody war on drugs.

“He (Duterte) said he hates the Communists yet he hasn’t fired the communists in his Cabinet,” Trillane said in a statement.

“He said he hates corruption yet he never launched any anti-corruption program the past year. Worse, he released GMA and buried Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. And, by the way, he has also admitted that he used to be corrupt when he was mayor.”

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The senator was referring to former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

READ: Duterte urges public: Report corruption by leaving anonymous tips

Contrary to the claims of Trillanes, Duterte fired a Cabinet secretary and numerous other government officials over mere allegations of corruption. The President launched Hotline 8888 to receive public complaints against corrupt, abusive or negligent government officials, officers and offices. Meanwhile, the PNP created the Counter-Intelligence Task Force to go after rogue or corrupt policemen.

“Overall, the SONA sounded like a campaign speech that only sycophants and the gullible would appreciate,” said Trillanes. CBB/rga

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