To show it does not have P211 million, says PDP-Laban lawyer

MANILA (UPDATED) - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to disclose his account at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch on Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig City to prove that he is not keeping P211 million, the spokesperson of PDP-Laban said on Friday.

In an interview on radio dzMM, Atty. Paola Alvarez said Duterte has authorized his lawyer, Salvador Panelo, to open his account records on Monday.

Duterte will not be present, according to Alvarez, since he will be busy campaigning that day.

"Yung sa Lunes po, tinawagan na po ni Mayor Duterte ang bangko at papadalhin po niya ang kanyang lawyer para po buksan ang bank account, para ipakita kay Senator Trillanes na hindi talaga totoo yung sinasabi niya na merong laman na P211 million," she said.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, citing a network of informants, on Wednesday alleged that Duterte had undeclared funds worth P211 million in a joint account with his daughter, Sara.

The camp of Duterte initially denied the existence of the bank account, but the mayor himself on Thursday confirmed that he has an account in the BPI Julia Vargas Avenue branch.

Duterte, however, denied that his account contains millions and that it is a joint account with his daughter.

TIMELINE: Duterte camp denies, admits BPI account

While Duterte has agreed to bare his account, Alvarez claimed this is not in response to Trillanes' challenge of a face-to-face meeting with the mayor at the BPI branch.

The senator, she stressed, is not a person in authority.

"Ito po ay ang obligasyon ni Mayor sa taongbayan, hindi po kay Senator Trillanes because Senator Trillanes is not a person in authority. He is not the Ombudsman, he is not a Sandiganbayan justice. He is a senator and he is not doing his job right now. Ang ginagawa po niya ay naga-attack ng ibang tao," she said.

READ: Duterte must now keep his word: analyst

NO AMLC REPORT

Alvarez, meanwhile, reiterated Duterte's own challenge to Trillanes to execute an affidavit that would say how and from whom the senator got information about his bank records.

"Sana po panindigan din po ni Senator Trillanes na ilagay niya po lahat yung kanyang accusations sa affidavit para pag nakita po niya na hindi yun totoo, harapin po niya yung legal repercussions," she said.

READ: Trillanes blasts Duterte for setting conditions for bank waiver

She said she finds it incredulous that the alleged millions of pesos contained in Duterte's bank account did not trigger an investigation by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), if the accusation is true.

"Kasi sobrang laki nung sinasabi niyang allegation, dapat po ni-report yan ng BPI sa AMLC. Kasi under the law, pag merong ganyang kalaking pera that is not commensurate with the business of the person, within 15 days dapat sabihin mo sa AMLC. 2014 pa po yan, bakit walang AMLC report?"

She added that Duterte has never been the subject of any investigation in connection with alleged ill-gotten wealth.

She also expressed disappointment that a private institution such as BPI would supposedly allow itself to be used in what she called "politicking."

"Yung BPI po, dapat naging strikto sila, kasi nakakatakot po, bangko ito eh. Kung kaya po nilang gawin kay Mayor Rodrigo Duterte yun, anong assurance na ako, hindi mo pwedeng gawin sa akin yan kung may galit ka sa akin? So it's very alarming as well," she said.

BPI on Friday denied leaking any information about Duterte's bank accounts.

P2.4-B TRANSACTIONS

Trillanes, citing bank transaction records from several sources, further alleged that Duterte had bank transactions amounting to P2.407 billion in 17 accounts in three banks from 2006 to 2015.

READ: Duterte accounts had P2.4-B in transactions: Trillanes

But according to Alvarez, these records are not authenticated nor verified.

She said it is "unfair" that Duterte, who, she insisted, has been living a simple life, is already being persecuted just because he has a bank account.

"Wala naman siyang ginagawang masama. May bank account lang siya. Tapos sinasabi niyo masamang tao na siya, sinungaling na siya?" Alvarez said.

SURVEY NUMBERS

The PDP-Laban spokesperson, meanwhile, said they expect their standard-bearer's numbers in voter preference surveys to increase further amid what she described as "baseless" allegations.

Duterte increased his lead in the latest in pre-election surveys. He was ahead by 12 points over erstwhile frontrunner Senator Grace Poe in the April 16-20 survey of ABS-CBN conducted by Pulse Asia.

"Yung ginagawa po nila sa kanya is telling the people na gusto po talaga nila na yung paraan nila na kahit illegal, basta yun ang gusto nila, yun ang mangyayari. That's why the people want change, because of these kinds of actions.

"Yung ginagawa po nila porket yung tao umaangat na, hilahin natin pababa. Yun nga po yung dahilang kung bakit sawang-sawa na ang mga Pilipino," Alvarez said.