Trillanes: 'Arrogance also not part of my discipline'

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday said he doesn’t feel alluded to by the statement of some of his fellow Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduates condemning "arrogance" within their ranks. The statement was made in the form of identical black shirts with the phrase "Arrogance is not part of my discipline" worn by some PMA graduates during the PMA alumni homecoming last Saturday in Baguio City. "Arrogance... is not part of their discipline... arrogance is also not part of my discipline," said Trillanes, a former Navy officer and member of PMA class of 1995. Trillanes, who participated in at least two attempts to overthrow the Arroyo administration, said he did not show up at the homecoming event due to "previous commitments." "I would have wanted to go [and] explain myself to my upperclassmen, but I had previous commitments that I could not possibly turn down," he said, adding that despite the criticisms against him by some PMA graduates, he still feels part of the PMA family. PMA superintendent Vice Admiral Leonardo Calderon recently issued a statement criticizing the "uncavalier" behavior of Trillanes towards another PMA alumnus, former Defense secretary Angelo Reyes. Reyes committed suicide last Feb. 8, days after he was accused in a Senate hearing of receiving millions of pesos worth in payoffs while still in active military service. Trillanes was among those who grilled Reyes during the hearing. Reyes was a member of PMA class 1966. He denied the accusations against him. Trillanes, however, said he was not sorry for how he treated Reyes. “Generally I respect my upperclassmen except for these several upperclassmen who have turned their backs on the honor code," he said in an earlier interview. — KBK/RSJ, GMA News