Rody willing to waive bank secrecy to PACC

President Duterte is willing to open his bank accounts to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) but not to his political rivals to avoid what he described as a “fishing expedition.”

Duterte said he was ready to disclose his bank accounts to members of the commission because he was confident that they would not find anything irregular in them.

“You want to know my bank accounts? I’ll give it to you, right now. I’m not joking. I will write a letter. Or if you have siblings in the Central Bank. I will not take it against you, go on, open the computer,” the President said during the oathtaking of PACC officials in Malacañang last Tuesday.

“But if you are my rival in politics? Do not – if you want evidence, do not get it from my mouth or make me do the effort. G*** ka ba? Bakit ko gagawain sa iyo ‘yan? (Are you stupid? Why will I do that to you)? You go to hell. But do not task me to do a thing so you can find (evidence) – you go into a fishing expedition,” he added.

Duterte reiterated that he is ready to resign if the money in his bank accounts exceeds P40 million.

“If it exceeds that amount, I step down. Go ahead, get it. I won’t make such dare if you can find something there,” he said in Filipino.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV scoffed at Duterte’s vow to open his bank accounts, saying the commission was composed of his appointees.

“If he’s going to open them (bank accounts), he must do it in front of the people. Until he does that, people will always doubt him,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes also belittled Duterte’s avowal to resign if more than P40 million is found in his bank accounts, as he reiterated his challenge for the President to sign waivers to allow the authorities to examine them.

“For me, nothing short of signing a waiver will satisfy the public. That must be done in the spirit of transparency. He should lead the way,” he said.

Trillanes has been accusing Duterte of having hidden wealth since the campaign period for the 2016 election.

Trillanes alleged that Duterte and his family had more than P2 billion in questionable bank transactions. He also said Duterte had failed to declare P211 million in 17 bank accounts.

Last month, the Office of the Ombudsman said it terminated its investigation on Duterte’s alleged hidden wealth because the Anti-Money Laundering Council refused to release requested data.

But Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque claimed that the investigation was stopped because of lack of evidence.