FACT CHECK: Duterte wrong in claiming Trillanes should not be concerned about sources of bank deposits

In a press briefing in Davao City on Nov. 25, former president Rodrigo Duterte wrongly claimed that the sources of his bank deposits are none of business of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Read FACT CHECK: Can ‘poor’ Duterte have P5B bank deposits?

STATEMENT

“You know, sa bangko, ‘wag ka na magtanong kung saan ko nakuha ‘yan. Kinukuha ko ‘yan sa holdup, nakuha ko ‘yan sa smuggling. Wala ka nang pakialam. Nand’yan ‘yan sa bangko.”

(You know, in the bank, just don’t ask where I got those [deposits]. Whether I got those from robbery, from smuggling, it’s none of your business. It’s there in the bank.)

Source: GMA Integrated News, LIVE: Former President Rodrigo Duterte Presscon – 11/25/2024 – Replay, Nov. 25, 2024, watch from 24:39 to 24:52

FACT

The Anti-Money Laundering Act, or Republic Act No. 9160, penalizes financial transactions of at least P4 million of suspicious origin or associated with unlawful activities such as smuggling, robbery, plunder, extortion, among others.

While the Bank Secrecy Act, or RA No. 1405, prohibits disclosure of information about bank deposits, it also provides exemptions to the confidentiality rule (1) upon written permission of the depositor, (2) in cases of impeachment, (3) upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials or (4) in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of litigation.