Senator Richard Gordon on Monday filed an ethics complaint against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV after they traded barbs during a hearing on the P6.4-billion illegal drug shipment from China.

In his complaint, Gordon accused Trilllanes of committing "continuous, unabated, unparliamentary acts, language and conduct", which "is causing damage to the Senate and to the people."

Gordon said his complaint is neither "frivolous nor is it being filed out of spite."

• Gordon cites Trillanes in contempt, threatens to file ethics case

Trillanes earlier expressed confidence that Gordon's threat of an ethics complaint against him would not prosper, saying he did nothing improper during Thursday's Senate hearing.

"Go ahead. Hindi ako matatakot diyan. Kay (President) Duterte nga hindi ako natatakot, sa kanya pa. Sa ethics case pa… sayang oras niya diyan na tatakutin ako. Gawin na lang niya. Tingnan natin kung papanong kalalabasan," Trillanes has said.

The two senators traded barbs during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's hearing on the P6.4-billion drug shipment from China that slipped past the country's port.

The heated exchange prompted Gordon, who chairs the committee, to cite Trillanes in contempt and warn of an ethics complaint.

• PANOORIN: Gordon, Trillanes, nagkainitan sa hearing