Letter to AMLC is Trillanes’ latest salvo against President
CALLING President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s announcement to release his bank transactions a “bluff,” Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV on Tuesday sent a letter to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) requesting the release of Mr. Duterte’s transactions.
The letter to the AMLC is the latest salvo in Mr. Trillanes’ attacks on Mr. Duterte since late last week, when he revived bank deposit charges from last year’s election campaign and promptly followed this up with Monday’s news conference presenting the turnaround of retired police officer and alleged Davao Death Squad ( DDS) member Arthur B. Lascañas.
“In view of the statements of (Mr.) Duterte, publicly announcing that he has directed the AMLC to open to the public his bank transactions, I am hereby requesting for a list of all the flagged/reported transactions under his name starting from 2006 and onwards, during which time he was serving as a public officer,” Mr. Trillanes said in his letter to the AMLC.
“I trust that the public statement and very categorical claim of the President himself for you to release his bank transactions, as publicized in all major radio and TV networks and newspapers on 17 and 18 February 2017, would be sufficient for the purpose,” he added.
In a press conference last Thursday, Mr. Trillanes reiterated his challenge to Mr. Duterte to open his bank records, claiming that it shows approximately P2 billion worth of transactions from 2006 to 2015.
The Senator also alleged that a contributor to Mr. Duterte’s election campaign named Samuel “Sammy” Uy deposited bout P120 million in the bank accounts of his children and his common-law wife.
A son of Mr. Duterte has responded vehemently to Mr. Trillanes’ attacks. For his part, Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo told reporters last Friday they were going to ignore the senator.
But the Palace as of this week continued to reel from what appeared to be a sustained political offensive on the part of the senator.
On Tuesday, Communications Secretary Martin A. Andanar walked back his remarks the previous day hinting at bribery as part of destabilization efforts against the Duterte government.
But he refused to heed Senate reporters’ demand for an apology, even as he maintained his remarks on Monday were based on “confidential intelligence reports.”
“Hindi ko sinabi na each reporter. Ang sinabi po sa intelligence report sa akin ay $ 1,000 ang umiikot. So that’s 50,000 pesos. Bakit naliliitan ka ba sa $1,000 (I did not say it [ bribe money] was given to each reporter. What I gathered from the intelligence report was that $1,000 was going around. So that’s P50,000. Do you find $ 1,000 small)?” he asked a reporter during a tense Palace briefing on Tuesday.
Mr. Andanar told another journalist not to pit him against Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes G. Esperon, Jr., who have denied reports about alleged destabilization plots against Mr. Duterte.
“Huwag mo kami pagsabungin... Basta kami meron kami sa Cabinet. Meron kaming information na natatanggap na sinasabi din namin because we’re open, we’re very transparent ( Don’t pit us against each other. We have information in the Cabinet that we’ve disclosed because we’re open, we’re very transparent),” Mr. Andanar said.
He then asked the reporter, Marlon Ramos of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “Are you fair on everything that you write?” “Yes,” said the reporter. “How about your post on social media?” “That’s my personal.” “Exactly. As a reporter, you are an ambassador of your newspaper,” Mr. Andanar said.
Mr. Trillanes, who ran for vice-president in the last elections, had also filed before the Ombudsman a plunder complaint against Mr. Duterte in connection with his alleged bank accounts.