Duterte admits owning dollar account

ABS-CBN News

Duterte vows to bare dollar account on Wednesday

(2nd UPDATE) Davao City mayor and presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte on Monday admitted that he owns a dollar account, which was earlier disclosed by rival Mar Roxas.

Without confirming how much the said dollar account contains, Duterte did not only admit owning the account, he vowed to open the same to the public on Wednesday.

"Dollar ni Roxas, buksan ko 'yan Wednesday. Sabi n'ya (Roxas), may dollar account ako na milyon, ako mismo, 'yan lang dalawa talaga eh," Duterte told journalists just minutes after his airplane landed in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur.

"So 'yung sinasabi ni Roxas, pabubuksan mo din?" ABS-CBN News' Doris Bigornia asked Duterte.

"Oo," the tough-talking mayor replied. "'Yung kay Roxas. Pero gusto ko, kainin ni Roxas. Gusto ko, pagkatapos, kainin ni Roxas ang statement ng bangko. Ipakain ko sa kanya."

In a press conference Friday, Roxas said Duterte has an undeclared dollar account.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Laws require all government officials and employees to declare all their assets, including bank accounts either in pesos or dollars.

In his 2014 SALN, Duterte reported a net worth of only P21 million.

Under Republic Act 3019, or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, a government official can be dismissed due to unexplained wealth.

Section 7 of the said law sets rules on the declaration of statement of assets and liabilities, while Section 8 states "property and/or money manifestly out of proportion to his salary and to his other lawful income, that fact shall be a ground for dismissal or removal."

"Properties in the name of the spouse and unmarried children of such public official may be taken into consideration, when their acquisition through legitimate means cannot be satisfactorily shown," RA 3019 adds. "Bank deposits shall be taken into consideration in the enforcement of this section, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary."

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism said Monday that Duterte's statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth show a phenomenal growth rate over the last 19 years.

DUTERTE: TRILLANES 'UGALING ASKAL'

Earlier Monday, Duterte's lawyer Salvador Panelo and Senator Antonio Trillanes both showed up at the Bank of the Philippine Islands ((BPI) Julia Vargas Branch in Pasig City, in a bid to settle the lawmaker's allegations of hidden wealth against the mayor.

The senator earlier accused the mayor of having over P200 million in deposits in his BPI account in 2014.

(READ: Duterte camp won't reveal BPI account transactions for now)

Trillanes said he gave Panelo an affidavit identifying his source as a certain "Joseph de Mesa," an alleged concerned citizen who is a former supporter of Duterte.

This is after Duterte challenged him to sign an affidavit revealing his source on allegations that the mayor had over P200 million in deposits in his BPI account in 2014, a claim that Duterte has denied.

Panelo said he brought with him two documents: one is a Special Power of Attorney that authorizes him to look into the bank deposits of Duterte and authorizing the bank to issue a certification based on that; and another that requests that the bank issue a certification "that at no time was there a P211-million deposit—whether singly, collectively, or cumulatively to his name."

In reaction to Trillanes, Duterte called the vice presidential candidate a "mad dog," who is "ugaling askal (asong kalye)."

"He is a mad dog. Askal ang ugali ng buang na 'yan. He launched a revolution. Pinaaral ng mga tao tapos aatakehin nya ang gobyernong nagpaaral sa kanya.”

Asked if he will issue a waiver in favor of Trillanes, Duterte said he will not fall into Trillanes' trap.

"Askal ang ugali n'ya, mad dog!" Duterte said.

Meanwhile, in Zamboanga City, Duterte vowed to unite Christians, Muslims, and Lumad in Mindanao as a way of achieving peace among Mindanaoan.

If he gets elected, Duterte promised that a new law will be crafted during his administration that will replace the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Duterte also reiterated his plans to shut down Congress if legislators will try to impeach him. He will declare a revolutionary government instead if Congress refuses to cooperate with his plans and programs. – with reports from Noning Antonio and Doris Bigornia, ABS-CBN News