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Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th

NETIZENS fired broadsides at pro-administration  for his remarks maligning the poor on Thursday.

Trillanes was interviewed by reporters after he and members of the Senate blue ribbon sub-committee inspected a sprawling property in Rosario, Batangas, which he insists belongs to Vice President Jejomar Binay.

The interview was posted on Youtube and shared in social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

“Nakita natin ‘yung karangyaan nitong lugar na ito at gusto ko ngang maipakita na ito, dalawang pagkatao nito ni Vice President Binay na nagpapakita siya na mahirap siya, kulay-mahirap, na asal-mahirap, pero ‘yun pala mayroon siyang sikretong mundo na, ito nga, na karangyaan. So diyan niyo makikita ‘yung pagbabalatkayo ng taong ito [The luxury of the place betrays the two personalities of Vice President Binay. He projects himself as poor, because of his complexion and demeanor, when he has a secret world of opulence. You can see Binay’s masquerade here],” Trillanes told reporters.

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The terms “kulay mahirap” and “asal mahirap” angered the netizens who slammed the senator for the slur.

“Being poor is nothing to be ashamed of. However Sen. Trillanes’ comment re kulay mahirap suddeny seemed so offensive. Talked about being two-faced,” one of them posted in Twitter.

Another netizen asked: “Pag maitim ba mahirap na agad? [Does being dark mean being poor?] Respeto naman Senator Trillanes.”

“Just because you have brown-skin kulay mahirap na? Hiyang-hiya naman sayo ang mga pinoy, Sen.Trillanes!” a tweet in the micro-blogging site said.

A blogger also asked: “Asal mahirap, kulay mahirap, hiyang hiya naman ako sa sinabi ni Trillanes. Siya kaya? Asal mayaman? At kulay mayaman?”

In the same video, a visibly fuming Trillanes was seen shouting at Chinese-Filipino businessman Antonio Tiu when the senator and his group were initially refused entry by caretakers of the Sunchamp Agri-Tourism Park.

“Anong gimik na naman ito? [What are you up to this time]?” he asked Tiu when the businessman arrived at the farm.

When asked to comment on the slur, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, the Vice President’s spokesman onpolitical concerns, said Trillanes’ attitude only showed that his agenda is anti-poor.

Trillanes “thinks very lowly of poor people,” Remulla told The Manila Times in a text message.