Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes IV visited banks in Singapore today to try to refute claims made by President Rodrigo Duterte that he maintains illegal offshore bank accounts.
Duterte recently accused Trillanes of keeping bank deposits “all over” Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and America. Photos then circulated online supposedly showing several US$50 remittances to the senator’s alleged accounts.
Trillanes went to the DBS branch in Singapore’s Alexandra Road with a printout of a supposed account there with a balance SGD193,850 (US$143,000) and registered under his father’s name.
A DBS teller, however, said there was no such account at their bank.
Trillanes tried to get a certification that those accounts don’t exist, but banks don’t issue certification for non-clients.
The opposition lawmaker then went to the Raffles City Tower to check business listings for the “Hongkong Shanghai Bank,” where he also allegedly concealed account with a balance of some S$278,000 (US$206,000).
PANOORIN: Sen. Trillanes nagtungo sa DBS Alexandra Road branch sa Singapore para patunayang wala siyang bank account doon | via @ZandroDZMM pic.twitter.com/fLtSVYecR3
— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) September 19, 2017
The bank itself, however, does not even exist.
Trillanes last week signed a waiver for 12 bank accounts being linked to him and dared Duterte to do the same.
The senator said Duterte only accused him of amassing hidden wealth to divert public attention following his allegations that the President’s son, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, is part of a syndicate that allegedly smuggled PHP6.4 billion (approx US$125 million) worth of shabu (meth) into the country last May.
The senator also linked the vice mayor and his brother-in-law, lawyer Mans Carpio, to the so-called “Davao Group,” which allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for the release of questionable shipments.
Duterte and Carpio have repeatedly denied the allegations and even faced a Senate inquiry.
During last year’s campaign, Trillanes said that the president, then the mayor of Davao, failed to declare PHP211 million (approx. US$4.1 million) in 17 accounts.
with reports from ABS-CBN News
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