Independent vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV said yesterday presidential candidate Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is hiding from the Filipino people his actual bank holdings when Duterte’s camp asked for an outstanding balance, not a transaction history covering nine years to show he had P2.4 billion.
“Ako ay nagbigay ng affidavit pero hindi rin pumirma ng waiver si Duterte at hindi rin binuksan ang kanyang bank account,’’ Trillanes said in a text message after he and Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, met at the Bank of the Philippine Island (BPI) Julia Vargas (Pasig city) branch office at noon yesterday.
Although not a lawyer but a former Navy officer, Trillanes said Panelo’s special power of attorney (SPA) given him by Duterte to open the BPI bank account is entirely different from an affidavit allowing the bank to open his account.
But Panelo maintained that he had requested the bank to give him not only the current bank account but those covering several years back but this was denied by the BPI saying there are legal issues involved such as the bank deposits are joint accounts.
The BPI, likewise, asked for seven days to study the legal issues, Panelo said.
The national and local elections are scheduled on May 9.
The bank, likewise, stated that the supposed bank forms containing the alleged “hidden’’ deposits of Duterte are not the BPI’s standard forms, Panelo told the media after leaving the bank premises.
Trillanes had released an affidavit stating that a Joseph de Mesa gave him documents showing the bank accounts of Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his daughter, Sara Zimmerman Duterte with the BPI Julia Vargas branch; BPI EDSA Greenhills branch and the Banco de Oro (BDO) Unibank in Mandaluyong city.
“I asked the help of accountants and finance specialists to tally and figure out just how much money was actually deposited and/or transferred into the subject bank accounts. Their final tally shows that a total of P2,407,272,103.75 flowed into the subject bank accounts from 2006 to 2015,’’ he said in his affidavit.
Earlier, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, president of the PDP-Laban party whose presidential candidate is Duterte, said the allegations of Trillanes against Duterte of having hidden bank accounts comes late.
People have already made up their minds whom to vote for with seven days left before the May 9 national and local elections, he said.
Pimentel said that the documents, to credible, must come from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
A bar topnotcher, Pimentel said Trillanes’ purported documents are “weak evidence.’’
“Why waste time for Duterte to deny something that is negative?’’ he asked. (MARIO CASAYURAN)
