By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
MARCH 14, 2016 – Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano signed a manifesto waiving their rights under the Bank Secrecy law.
In the manifesto, printed on a large piece of cardboard, they pledged “to open all our bank accounts in local and foreign currencies both here and abroad in the interest of transparency and accountability.”
April 27, Wednesday- The Philippine Daily Inquirer carried the expose of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who is running for vice president as an independent candidate and is carrying Grace Poe as his president, that Duterte, who is now the frontrunner in the presidential race, has at least P211 million in the bank in 2014 which he did not declare when he filed his Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALN) in 2014.
The Trillanes document shared with media showed account number 002433-0695-39 at BPI Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City under the name of Rodrigo Roa Duterte jointly with his daughter Sarah Z. Duterte.
There were ten deposits. Eight of the ten deposits totalling more than P193 million were made on March 28, 2014, the 69th birthday of Duterte. The two other deposits totalling P33,705,615 were made on Dec. 9, 2014.
The deposits were not included in Duterte’s 2014 SALN, which only recorded a net worth of P21,971,732.62—assets worth P22,971,732.62 and a liability of P1 million, a personal loan from a certain Samuel Uy.
Under Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) all government employees are required to file their SALN.
Cash on hand or in bank are considered assets that must be declared.
The Inquirer article carried a strong denial from Duterte saying:”The account is not true and is just a fabrication of Trillanes, who is a money for hire.”
Speaking at the Makati Business Club lunch time, Duterte dismissed Trillanes’ expose as “garbage.”
He told the businessmen: “Believe me. That’s garbage. You can check with the bank. You go there.”
“I told you, he is a liar. He fabricated this,” he added.
Duterte also said in an ambush interview after his MBC speech he is taking back the bank waiver (which was not really a waiver but a manifesto) he signed last March. “Not anymore. I’ll make it difficult for Trillanes. It’s just a piece of paper. You prove it. Why will I give it to him? I’ll take the waiver and I will tell him, ‘Prove it. I will not make it easy for you. I will not play into your hands. You prove it,’”
Yesterday morning, April 28, at ANC, Duterte’s spokesman Peter Laviña, told Karen Davila, “”This is a non-existent account. As a lawyer, he would not issue any waiver pointing to a non-existent account….Why will Duterte do banking in Ortigas when he is based in Davao?”
At about 1 pm, a friend of mine, who wanted to find out who was really telling the truth between Trillanes and Duterte, went to BPI Alabang Town Center branch and deposited P500 in the Duterte account published in the Inquirer.
She said the bank teller asked her whose account and she said , “Sara Duterte.” Then she added, “From Emilio Aguinaldo” referring to Duterte’s statement during the last presidential debate that his funder is Emilio Aguinaldo living in a mountain in Davao.
The teller processed the account and gave her the deposit slip which showed it was credited to the account of Rodrigo Roa Duterte or Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sara Duterte.
She sent me the photographed copy and I posted it in Facebook.
At about 2 pm, Liberal Party Presidential candidate Mar Roxas sent his assistant to also deposit P500 in the BPI account that Duterte said is non-existent. The bank accepted the deposit.
Inquirer also deposited P100 in the same account. Another one posted in Facebook a deposit of P5 in the same account.
At 3:09 Inquirer posted a story, “Duterte admits existence of BPI accounts.”
