Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday signed waivers for his allegedly 12 offshore bank accounts and challenged President Rodrigo Duterte to do the same as corruption claims between the two continues.
“Gumawa ako ng tig-iisang waiver. Pinirmahan ko ito at duly notarized at received by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. Yung sa ombudsman, nandodoon na din. So, it’s the same waiver. At ayan ‘yon, ito na ‘yon, 12 lahat, 12 accounts [I made 12 waivers for each of my bank accounts. I signed it and it’s duly notarized and received by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. The one for the ombudsman is also included. That’s it, 12 waivers for the 12 accounts],” Trillanes said in a media conference.
“Ngayon, ako naman ibabalik ko kay Duterte yung hamon, nagparatang ka sa akin, pumirma ako ng waiver, nagparatang ako sa iyo, isang taon mahigit na, iniiba mo ang usapan. Marami kang sinasabi na, sige buksan niyo. Hindi pwedeng boka-boka diyan. Kailangan mong pumirma ng waiver [This time, I challenged Duterte who accused me. I signed the waivers. I accused you, one year has passed, you always change the conversation. You kept saying, “Go ahaed, open it bank accounts). Words are not enough, you should sign your waivers],” the senator added.
Earlier, Duterte threatened to disclose foreign bank accounts of Trillanes which allegedly contained his hidden wealth, after the accusations of the latter in a Senate investigation that the presidential son and son-in-law have local bank accounts enclosing hundreds of millions of pesos.
Trillanes denied Duterte’s accusations and said he will destroy these “lies” with the truth.
“Noong isang linggo ay nagparatang sa akin itong si President Duterte na meron daw akong ibang hidden bank accounts. Ito po ay pinabubulaanan ko. Hindi po ito totoo. Ni isang bank account, wala ako [Last week, President Duterte accused me of having hidden bank accounts. I denied these claims. These were not true. I don’t have even a single bank account],” he said.
“I will destroy your fabricated information, but with the truth,” Trillanes declared.
The senator also said he signed the bank waivers to allow the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Office of the Ombudsman to scrutinize his bank accounts.
“So ito na just to show na wala akong itinatago, ito ay open for scrutiny. Andyan na sa kamay AMLC [This is just to show that I am not hiding anything. This is open for scrutiny],” he added.
“Kung matapang ka at hindi ka buang, pumira ka ng waiver kagaya ng ginawa ko ngayon. Pumirma ka address sa AMLC, address sa ombudsman kung talagang dika kurakot [If you’re brave and youre not crazy, do the same and sign the waivers. Sign and address it to the AMLC and to the ombudsman if you’re not corrupt],” Trillanes said.
Despite the challenge, the Trillanes said Duterte will not sign any bank waivers as the senator said the president is afraid of the truth, even accusing the latter’s family of corruption.
“Pero alam ko na hindi mo ‘yan gagawin dahil duwag ka sa katotohanan, at alam ko na kurakot ka [But I know you will not do it because you are afraid of the truth, I know you are corrupt],” Trillanes added.
“Kagaya ng iyong pamilya. So itong manugang mo na si Mans Carpio at anak mong si Paolo Duterte tumakbo din noong pinapaharap ko ng waiver. So dito tayo magkatapatan [Just like your family. Your son-in-law and your son Paolo Duterte ran when I said they should submit a waiver. Let’s face each other here],” the senator said.