The Society of Honor by Joe America

An interview by questionnaire with Prof. Sonny Trillanes

By Wilfredo G. Villanueva 

Wilfredo G. Villanueva (WGV): You’re active in socmed, particularly Facebook. Is this our platform or weapon of choice? 

Prof. Sonny Trillanes (ST): Facebook is the primary platform available for me right now being in the private sector. 

WGV: Will it reach our target audiences? 

ST: I hope so, but realistically I know it won’t. It is a vast ocean of socmed users out there. 

WGV: Can we fire for effect already? 

ST: The thing about socmed now is it creates its own timing. One post can go viral, but a similar one may not. In short, it can’t be forced. Even the troll armies used by the other side can’t manufacture viral posts the way they did in 2016.

WGV: How’s your family? 

ST: My family is doing okay so far. Healthy and safe pa naman lahat. 

WGV: Nothing to be worried about? 

ST: My 88-year old mother is still bedridden because of advanced-stage Parkinson’s, but otherwise she’s relatively healthy.

WGV: Your dog? 

ST: We have three dogs now, two Chow-chows and a Shih Tzu. They’re doing great, too. Stress relievers namin sila.

WGV: Getting your share of good living, good sleep, enough exercise to shore up your immune system? 

ST: I have been sleeping at least six hours the past week since the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) began, which is a great thing for me kasi before, mga four to five hours lang. As for exercise, I walk at least 12,000 steps a day.

WGV: How’s PMA? No drama? Sailing along placidly in troubled waters? Still a formidable force, a long, gray line ready to defend the Constitution? Apolitical and such?

ST: The PMA community, particularly the retirees and those outside the service, is much more vibrant now than the first four years of this administration. Most are now openly expressing disappointment and criticism toward Duterte’s incompetence and corruption. Halos wala nang nagdedefend sa kanya. Nakakahiya na kasi talaga. Although, I would have preferred that the EJK (extra-judicial killings) issue was the red line, but I’m still happy that they’ve seen the light. As for the active (officers) they may not be as expressive, but pareho ang sentiments nila. They are mainly focused on their respective duties, and they will surely be faithful to their constitutional duty of being the protector of the people and the state.

WGV: Will Sec. Lorenzana stick to his guns, possibly taking it upon himself to continue to speak out for us who are chafing at the bit because of Chinese cabbage strategy? 

ST: I believe Sec. Lorenzana will try to do the right thing until Duterte tells him not to. Once that happens, he switches to becoming a good soldier and follows his commander-in-chief. 

WGV: Do you see things coming to a head? 

ST: It may come to a head similar to what happened in 2012 in Scarborough. Let’s just hope that there won’t be any miscalculations from both sides that would lead to an irreversible situation.

WGV: As a leading figure of the opposition, is everything proceeding according to plan and strategy? Are we proactive or reactive? 

ST: The opposition is led by and united behind Vice President Leni Robredo. In relation to 2022, any plan or strategy would only be formulated once she decides to run for the presidency. The basic reason for this is that she could only pick the campaign planners, strategists and staff after she has decided to run. Close-in campaign staff are personal choices kasi these are positions of trust, and the campaign plan and strategy should be reflective of the principal. Understand that VP Leni has been focused on the pandemic, so 2022 is not yet a decision priority for her. In the meantime, we are in a holding pattern.  

WGV: How do you size up civil society?

ST: Civil society has slowly regained its unified voice the past two years. At first, it was also one of the sectors bullied by Duterte into submission. A significant part of it was even coopted early on by the administration. Umasa rin sila.

WGV: Is civil society part of the solution or problem? 

ST: Civil society is essential to any plan to win in 2022 and, more importantly, it should be an integral part of the post-Duterte governance. 

WGV: Do you have a Plan B in case VP Leni has other goals? 

ST: Yes. We simply cannot lose by default.

WGV: Are you open to a run for the presidency? 

ST: Yes, but only if VP Leni decides not to run for president. As I mentioned, we simply cannot lose by default.

WGV: Are you fully cooperating with 1Sambayan to put up a unified slate for 2022? 

ST: 1SAMBAYAN is a much broader coalition than what the opposition has been able to assemble to date. We would need it as a vehicle if we are to beat the Duterte alliance of evil.

WGV: Are you still the same angry young man willing to stake his life for principle? If you have mellowed, how have you mellowed? 

ST: Not so angry and not so young anymore, but essentially the same person who has been fighting for our country and people.

WGV: Your favorite political thinkers or authors? Who do you relate or identify with?

ST: My favorite political icon is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. 

My favorite military icon is Gen. Douglas MacArthur. 

The author who had the biggest impact for me is Eric Hoffer. His book, The True Believer, is what we used as our guide for the formation of the Magdalo group.

WGV: What are the lessons we learned in campaign for Otso Diretso? 

ST: A lot. I just can’t enumerate them at the moment without offending my allies. All of us made mistakes in that campaign and I only hope we learned from them. 

As far as silver linings go, there were a lot, too. 

WGV: The Palawan plebiscite vote surprised everyone. Too early to celebrate the demise of the Duterte magic, but it does give us elbow room. We see an awakened electorate. We walk into 2022 with parity and new-found confidence. True? 

ST: Very true. The tide is turning, if it hasn’t already. The Palawan vote showed how civil society can move people into action against well-entrenched interests. It’s a big win against money politics at the local level. Have faith, the Filipino people will deliver in 2022. They always have.

WGV: Talk to your followers? 

ST: We are surely living in one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history. A once-in-a-century global pandemic coupled with the most incompetent president ever to rule our country and results are very predictable: widespread deaths and suffering; economy in shambles; widespread poverty; massive corruption and trillions in debt. These are on top of the damages Duterte has done in his first few years in office: the slaughter of thousands of Filipinos through the EJKs; the plunder of our public coffers; the destruction of our democratic institutions; and the proliferation of his brand of indecency, vulgarity and hate into society. FUBAR. That’s what Duterte did to our country.

However, like our ancestors before us, we will also rise as a people and redeem our national soul. Twenty twenty-two will be our turning point as a nation reborn. Only this time, armed with the lessons of the past, we will never again relapse into complacency and just build and rebuild until we have actualized our collective vision for our country.

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*FUBAR – Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. World War II military slang popularized in movie Saving Private Ryan. 

**Photograph from Rappler. Senator Trillanes refutes cases filed against him by the Duterte Government in 2018.