Trillanes disputes column claiming Trump called him 'little narco'

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday clarified that an opinion column claiming that US President Donald Trump called him a "little narco" is wrong.

According to an opinion column in The STAR published Wednesday, Trump reportedly remarked "the little narco met with Senator Marco (Rubio)" when asked about Trillanes.

The writer of the column said that Trump reportedly made the remark "while onboard Air Force One."

The column, quoting from the supposed report, claimed: "Trump responded: 'Senator who? Like I said senator who? The lil narco who met Marco? Who’d he get a visa? Isn’t he wanted, doesn’t he have an arrest warrant or something?'"

Trillanes, in his statement, urged the public: "Let us be more discerning about these things."

Last month, the Senate committee on public information and mass media conducted a probe into the proliferation of fake news.

The hearing was prompted by a manifestation by seven senators who said they had been targeted by malicious social media posts for not signing a resolution denouncing extrajudicial killings linked to the government's campaign against illegal drugs.

They said they did not get a chance to sign the resolution.

The one-day hearing however, failed to discuss crucial issues as some senators took the time to air their grievances over social media posts critical of them.