MANILA – In an apparent reprise of his 2016 campaign-period allegations that then-candidate Rodrigo Duterte had hundreds of millions in secret bank accounts, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday tried to get his son and son-in-law to sign waivers to allow the opening of their alleged accounts, but was rebuffed.
“There’s a law about bank secrecy. I have the right to privacy,” Davao Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said early on when Trillanes started grilling him about certain accounts and he refused to answer.
The vice mayor, invited along with his brother-in-law Atty. Manases Carpio to attend the Blue Ribbon hearing on Customs corruption and the P6.6-billion shabu smuggling, said he was also invoking his right against self-incrimination.
Trillanes told Vice Mayor Duterte – recently described by the President as having built a small fortune with his decades of involvement in his in-laws’ trading business and work at the Davao Port – that information he received showed the young Duterte had total deposits as of November 2015 at P104,282,161.65. “I’m sure lumaki na ‘yan kasi may Davao Group na, eh [I’m sure the money is now bigger because there’s now a Davao Group],” Trillanes noted, referring to the alleged shadowy group of influence-peddlers at Customs that supposedly included the vice mayor and Atty. Carpio.
Replying to Trillanes’ invitation for him to confirm the bank accounts, Paolo Duterte said: “I refuse to answer Mr. Chair.”
Trillanes also asked Paolo, “Do you know Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral of DPWH?” and Paolo replied in the negative.
He acknowledged knowing, though, Road Board Executive Director Chito Clagano, who was allegedly dropping the vice mayor’s name in asking for “20 percent” from congressmen. “Ikaw ang ni-ne-name drop,” Trillanes told Duterte.
Trillanes then turned to Mans Carpio and asked him if he had an account in Metrobank and the husband of Mayor Sara Duterte replied, “I have no knowledge.”
Trillanes claimed there were “hundreds of thousands and millions in deposits” in the bank accounts in question.
Trillanes then continued: “BDO account?”
Carpio replied, “Yes, in Claro M. Recto [branch].”
.
When Trillanes said the total amount in that account, per his information, was P121,109, 236.15 total as of late 2015 and asked him to admit if he had that amount, Carpio replied,
“I invoke the bank secrecy…”
Trillanes asked the Davao lawyer if he was “disputing my allegations?” and Carpio replied: “I’m disputing it, Mr. Chair… because I don’t have that much money. That’s why I was smiling earlier.”
The senator had earlier taken offense at Carpio’s smiling before giving a reply, and demanded to know if he meant to make fun of the inquiry.
Trillanes finally asked the vice mayor and his brother in law if they were willing to sign his copy of a waiver of their secrecy of bank deposits. By way of encouraging the pair to acquiesce, Trillanes added, “Kung mali ako rito [If I make a mistake here] the whole world will laugh at me.”
Duterte and Carpio did not bite, though. “I am not willing to sign the waiver because I’m not familiar with those figures… There’s nothing wrong if I don’t know (the amount),” said Carpio.
“I’m not willing to sign,” added the lawyer.
Paolo Duterte said: “Same answer, I’ll not sign the waiver. I’m disputing it.” – Reports by Tricia Aquino, Lourdes Fernandez
WATCH VIDEO REPORTS BY NEWS5:
