Incoming president
Rodrigo Duterte clarified that the bank accounts containing P211 million that
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV claimed were his indeed belonged to him when he was
still a congressman representing Davao City.
"You listen very
carefully. No such thing. Those were my accounts when I was a
congressman," Duterte told GMA News anchor Jessica Soho in an exclusive
interview.
He explained,
"Kung bibiyahe kasi kami, binibigyan kami ng account. Hinihingi yung
account number kasi papasukan nila ng dollar para pambaon namin. But that has
been dormant."
Duterte represented
Davao City in the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2001.
Trillanes claimed
Duterte had accounts in the Bank of the Philipppine Islands (BPI) Julia Vargas
Ave. branch containing over P211 million, which the latter did not declare in his 2014 Statement of
Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALN).
Days before the
elections, Trillanes and Duterte's lawyer Salvador Panelo faced off at the said
branch to open the bank accounts for public scrutiny, but the matter did not
push through.
Panelo, however, said they
have already asked BPI to certify that Duterte's account never contained P211
million.
"Nung umuwi na
ako sa Davao, binayaan ko na, ayoko naman magpunta didto para magkuha lang sa
dollar. Pag sa davao, sabihin ko lang kay bong, 'Bong, bilhan mo ako ng dollars
para baon.' Nakalimutan ko na yun," Duterte added.
Meanwhile, Trillanes,
who conceded in the vice presidential race, said it is up to the media
to pursue the issue of Duterte's bank accounts.
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