MANILA, 15 June 2007 — Antonio Trillanes, the navy officer who ran for a Senate seat while under detention over coup charges, was finally proclaimed a winner by the Commission on Elections yesterday.
Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos said that while votes from Maguindanao province have yet to be canvassed because of protests over alleged fraud, Trillanes’ lead in the May 14 election is already beyond the reach of two other candidates who are still fighting for the last of 12 Senate seats.
“It is already mathematically impossible to overcome his lead, so it is just right for us to proclaim him,” Abalos told reporters.
His remarkable victory is regarded by some analysts as a vote against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been dogged with allegations of cheating in the presidential election of 2004.
Trillanes, 35, has been in military detention for leading about 300 soldiers in a failed uprising against Arroyo in August of 2003.
Last week, the Comelec proclaimed as winners six other teammates of Trillanes in the Genuine Opposition group, along with only two administration and two independent candidates.
The 12th spot is still being contested by opposition candidate Aquilino Pimentel III and Juan Miguel Zubiri of the administration Team Unity.
Filipinos voted for the 12 senators, more than 200 congressional representatives and about 17,000 local officials last month. The elections were marred by violence and fraud allegations.
Trillanes, who garnered more than 11.1 million votes, would be officially proclaimed a winner on today. His lawyer, Reynaldo Robles, asked the court to allow him to attend the proclamation ceremony. “I came at the right time, when people were looking for a new alternative, a new idea, a new solution to the country’s problems,” said Trillanes, who launched a failed coup in 2003 to denounce government and military corruption.
“It’s a vindication for the group,” Trillanes said of his election victory. “We can now claim directly that the people are behind us.”
Trillanes’ triumph in his first foray into politics has baffled many because he had to wage his campaign from behind bars. A court allowed journalists to interview him in a heavily secured military detention center.
With only a 5-million-peso ($109,000) budget, raised by selling his battered car and contributions from relatives, Trillanes was the lowest spending front-running candidate in the election. Most Senate candidates spent more than P50 million.
His campaign gathered steam toward the end as opposition forces, including left-wing activists and a wealthy anti-Arroyo lawmaker, bankrolled television advertisements.
He placed third in votes cast by the military, despite efforts by senior defense and armed forces officials to dissuade troops and their families from supporting the coup leader.
Slap on Arroyo’s Face
While some of the mutiny leaders have reconciled with the president after making public apologies, Trillanes has remained unrepentant, criticizing Arroyo’s government for widespread corruption and rights abuses.
He openly attacked Arroyo and demanded her ouster — an aggressive stance that even fellow opposition candidates avoided in a bid not to turn off Filipinos exasperated with the country’s notoriously chaotic politics.
Analysts say his victory reflected public dissatisfaction with Arroyo’s rule and others say it was a slap on Arroyo’s face.
“It’s a verdict against GMA and a verdict against the whole system,” political analyst Earl Parreño said, referring to Arroyo’s initials.
After ousting two presidents in army-backed “people power” revolts in recent years, many Filipinos desired an end to widespread corruption, poverty and other social ills. “They’re somehow saying that GMA still hasn’t done much to remove these problems,” Parreño said.
Allegations that Arroyo rigged the 2004 presidential elections, a charge she has steadfastly denied, may have also been a factor in Trillanes’ victory, he said.
The navy officer made no secret of his opposition to the government and to military top brass during the campaign, which he conducted from his jail cell.
“The only way for this country to move forward is to get Gloria out of the way,” a defiant Trillanes told reporters at his detention cell earlier this month.
“I’m going to live up to that advocacy, but if the people will eventually say no, then I am going to accept that as a fact.”
If Trillanes gets a seat in the powerful bicameral Commission on Appointments, he would have a say in the promotions of senior military generals. He would also be able to block budget proposals for government departments.
The 120,000-strong military also has been perplexed by his win. Military officials have been surveying several officers, asking them, for example, if Trillanes’ victory was a vote against Arroyo’s government or a defiance of the top brass.
But military chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, said Trillanes’ victory was not a problem. “Why should we look at him as a problem?” Esperon said. “People will now see that it’s better to take the constitutional way of doing things rather than creating trouble.”
But he said he opposed giving Trillanes bail and said the officer would have to appeal for a daily furlough from detention to attend the legislature.
“There’s no such thing as bail in the military,” Esperon said. “If we disregard the Articles of War, then we might as well forget discipline in the armed forces. Let’s forget that we have an army.” (With input from Agencies)
