trapo n. a traditional politician believed to be corrupt. Etymological Note: < Tgl. ‘dirty rag, old rag’ < Span. ‘cleaning cloth.’ (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
trapo n.— «In theory, at least, Mrs Aquino has declared her political debts either paid or cancelled: Kabisig can now provide a platform for cleaner forms of political ambition than those of the trapos.» —“Philippines; At arm’s...
trapo n.— «In the 1987 legislative elections, the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)—which exposed President Ferdinand Marcos’s attempts to rig the 1986 elections—did not contest the election of many traditional politicians...
trapo n.— «The very term “trapo” must have been invented because of Jose de Venecia. A trapo through and through even before trapo entered the lexicon, he was already a trapo in Ferdinand Marcos’s Batasang Pambansa, the...