After his attempt to trick Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV with a fake bank account number, President Duterte is planning to reveal his rival’s real bank records and his supposed partners abroad.
The President said Trillanes has kept many offshore bank accounts but in small amounts based on the information provided by a foreign government.
“Sinabi ko, well in advance, that ‘yung mga deposito I will reveal it. Hintay lang kayo and the names of the partners, I will reveal it,” Duterte said during a media gathering in Davao City last Friday night.
“‘Yung mga account niya kung saan-saan. Marami ‘yan, maliliit kasi pag magdeposito ka nang malaki, mag-red flag ‘yan,” he added.
The President had poked fun at Trillanes after revealing he merely invented a bank account number the senator used in his bank secrecy waiver. He made the admission after Trillanes went to Singapore to prove the alleged bank account did not exist.
Turning the tables on Trillanes, Duterte has accused his fierce critic of hiding money in banks in some countries, including United States, Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. He claimed that Trillanes has closed some offshore bank accounts but the local anti-money laundering authorities could still help trace such transactions.
The President, in his remarks last Friday, explained that he deliberately modified Trillanes’ bank account to catch him lying. He added that Trillanes knows the foreign state who provided the information about his multiple bank accounts.
“Alam niya. Kaya para hindi siya maipit, he had to admit one and to say that mine was a falsity,” he said.
The President said Trillanes was “hungry for power” based on his track record.
He said Trillanes went to jail after a failed mutiny against the government in the past. He then raised funds using public sympathy and ran for senator as a supposed “anti-graft exponent.”
“He’s that scheming,” the President said about Trillanes, who has revived allegations the President has stashed ill-gotten wealth in banks. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
