Palace to Trillanes: Move on from wealth issue

Malacañang has advised Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV to move on from the issue of President Duterte’s alleged hidden wealth instead of insisting on investigating a claim that has been junked by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque mocked Trillanes for continuing to seek a Senate inquiry on Duterte’s wealth, saying he admires the senator for tirelessly pushing the issue.

“Let’s move on to other issues. The issue about the alleged hidden wealth of the President is already worn out,” Roque said in a press briefing in Manila last Friday.

Trillanes has been accusing Duterte of amassing ill-gotten wealth since the campaign for the 2016 election. He claimed that Duterte and his family made more than P2 billion worth of questionable bank transactions and did not declare P211 million in 17 bank accounts.

The senator has also asked the Senate to look into reports that Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, had failed to declare millions in cash and investments.

Earlier this week, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that it has terminated its probe on Duterte’s wealth because the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) declined to provide the data it requested.

However, Roque claimed in media interviews that the ombudsman had junked the investigation because of lack of evidence.

Last Friday, Trillanes reiterated his call for the Senate banks committee to probe Duterte’s wealth, as he accused AMLC executive director Mel Racela of protecting the President.

He said the Senate committee should question the legality of AMLC‘s refusal to comply with the ombudsman’s request for information.

Roque, however, disputed Trillanes’ claim, saying the ombudsman has the power to open all bank accounts, citing the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona, where Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales served as one of the witnesses.

“The ombudsman opened the account of chief justice Renato Corona. She could have done the same if she wanted to. She could have seen the bank accounts of President Duterte,” the presidential spokesman said.

“Let us not resurrect the dead. The issue about the wealth of President Duterte is dead,” Roque added.

Roque also responded to the ombudsman’s claim that the Solicitor General had recognized the unconstitutionality of the suspension of Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang, who was accused of prematurely disclosing unauthenticated documents about the bank transactions of Duterte and his family.