An officer and a gentleman, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, is courteous to Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Last Sept. 3, the detained senator filed a resolution questioning Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita’s meddling in Senate processes by presiding the Senate Technical Working Group on Philippine Baseline Bills on Aug. 14, 2008 in Malacañang.
Trillanes, who is one of the five senators who have filed a bill delineating the country’s archipelagic baseline, said Ermita’s role as presiding officer of a Senate committee meeting is a clear violation of the constitutionally enshrined principle of separation of powers of the three branches of government.
“Secretary Ermita’s actions effectively undermined the independence of the Senate as an institution,” he said.