Poe urges Duterte to be true to his word

MANILA – Administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas on Thursday challenged Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to sign a real waiver that would allow public disclosure of the leading presidential candidate's bank records.

Roxas on Thursday showed a notarized document allowing the Office of the Ombudsman to scrutinize his bank accounts for the duration of his candidacy.

"So, 'yan ang totoo. Hindi ito pagimik lang. Parang pagimik lang ito eh [Duterte's previous waiver]. Kasi noong tinapatan ng katotohanan, kasinungalingan ang sinagot," the Liberal Party (LP) bet said.

"So, step up, Mayor Duterte. Bansa natin ang nakasalalay dito."

In a Facebook post, Roxas said: ''I have always been an advocate of transparency, especially in public service. I have nothing to hide. As a private citizen, I am under no obligation to execute this document. However, as a candidate for President of the Republic of the Philippines, I want to prove that I am fully worthy of the people’s trust."

Speaking to reporters at the headquarters of the LP in Quezon City, Roxas noted that as a private individual, he is actually not obliged to divulge the details of his bank accounts.

''Para sa inyong lahat. Eto 'yung totoo. Eto 'yung tunay. Ako, isang pribadong mamamayan. Wala akong obligasyon na gawin ito dahil 'yung obligasyon ko na mag-file ng SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth), na magbigay ng impormasyon sa Ombudsman, ay nagtapos noong ako po ay nag-resign na mula sa pamahalaan last year pa,'' he said.

''Subalit, ngayon sa harapan ninyo, pinipirmahan ko ito. Binibigyan ko ang Ombudsman ng kapangyarihan, ng karapatan na buksan ang lahat ng aking records, buksan lahat ng aking lahat na bank accounts para malaman niya, matingnan niya kung ano ang katotohanan kay Mar Roxas. Ito 'yung totoong walang tinatago. Ito, 'yung totoong nagsasalita ng katotohanan. Ito ang tunay."

Roxas also said the supposed waiver Duterte signed weeks ago for his bank accounts was only a gimmick.

POE: TRANSPARENCY TRUMPS PRIVACY

Poe, meanwhile, said she is willing to waive her rights and privileges to bank secrecy if necessary.

"Why not? Alam mo, para sa akin lang, hindi sa sinasakyan itong isyu na ito, dalawang bagay 'yan: importante ang privacy... Lahat naman kami kahit na government officials, pero siguro mas nangingibabaw ang transparency. So kung meron talagang kwestyon, I'm willing to do it,'' she said.

Poe said that officials who earlier pledged transparency should keep their word.

"Kapag may binitawang salita noon, wala namang naghahamon, sila mismo ang nagsabi na willing sila. Tapos ngayon na meron ng basehan, ayaw na naman. Sana naman isang lider rin na mapanghahawakan natin ang salita. Kasi paano na ngayon 'yan? Kailangan ba tayong magmakaawa 'pag merong pinangako at hindi tinupad? Kailangan ba nating magmakaawa para tuparin ang mga pangako na 'yon?" she said.

Poe's running mate, Sen. Francis Escudero, also urged officials to waive their rights to bank secrecy, citing his own waiver after the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

"Ginawa ko. Siguro dapat lang gawin ng sino mang opisyal, may alegasyon man o wala kaugnay sa kanyang bank accounts. Bagaman wala pang batas, utang natin sa publiko, transparency at huwag itago ang ano mang isyu o katanungang maaaring meron ang ating kababayan sa kanila," Escudero said.

DUTERTE'S ABOUT-FACE

Duterte initially denied the existence of the bank account. However, the mayor eventually admitted on Thursday that he has two BPI accounts, but claimed these only contain P50,000 and P17,000 each.

READ: Duterte confirms existence of bank account

"Meron ako sa BPI. Hindi ganun kalaki. Thousands lang. It could not go beyond even... Meron isa 17 (thousand), yung isa below 50 (thousand)," he said.

"Malaki yan noon, naubos sa gastos," he added. "Di aabot ng milyon, I will assure you. Kailan ko pa kayo binola?"

But Duterte denied that his account at the BPI branch on Julia Vargas in Pasig City is a joint account with his daughter, Sara.

"Hindi (joint account)," he said, nodding when asked "So inyo lang yun?"

"Ako lang, ako lang. Huwag na yung anak. Ako lang," Duterte said.

Sara, for her part, said in a text message to ABS-CBN News that she has no knowledge of the bank account.

"Si Mayor Rody lang po ang sasagot ng tanong. Wala po akong alam sa existence ng bank account," she said.

However, a copy of a deposit slip posted by journalist Ellen Tordesillas on her Facebook account shows that the account is owned by "Rodrigo Roa Duterte or Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sara Z Duterte."

"A friend went to BPI an hour ago to find out if the expose of Sen. Trillanes on Duterte's account is true. Using the bank account number she saw in the Inquirer, she deposited P500. It's validated. The account is existing. Here's the deposit slip," Tordesillas said in her post. - with Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News