MANILA, Philippines – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday, September 11, submitted bank secrecy waivers to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Office of the Ombudsman in a bid to disprove President Rodrigo Duterte’s allegations.

Trillanes presented to the media copies of the 12 waivers he signed. All documents were notarized and received by the AMLC.

The opposition senator again challenged the President to sign bank secrecy waivers. It was Trillanes who first accused Duterte of having billions of pesos in secret bank accounts during the 2016 campaign. Duterte has refused to sign documents and has only verbally ordered the AMLC to look into his accounts.

“Twelve ito lahat. So, ito na, just to show wala ako tinatago, ito ay open for scrutiny. Nasa kamay na ng AMLC. Ngayon, ako naman ibabalik ko kay Duterte ‘yung hamon. Nagparatang ka sa akin, pumirma ako ng waiver. Nagparatang ako sa ‘yo isang taon mahigit na, iniiba mo usapan,” Trillanes said in a press conference.

(I’ve signed 12 waivers. So, the waivers are here, just to show I’m not hiding anything, these are open for scrutiny. The AMLC has these already. Now, I’ll throw the challenge to Duterte. You made allegations against me, I signed waivers. I accused you of having unexplained wealth more than a year ago, but you kept changing the topic.)

“‘Di puwedeng boka-boka diyan, kailangan mo pumirma ng waiver. Kung matapang ka, ‘di ka corrupt, pumirma ka ng waiver gaya ng ginawa ko ngayon, addressed sa AMLC at Ombudsman. Alam ko ‘di mo ‘yan gagawin dahil duwag ka sa katotohanan. Alam ko na kurakot ka, gaya nung iyong pamilya,” he added.

(You can’t just be all talk, you have to sign a waiver. If you’re brave, if you’re not corrupt, then sign a waiver like I did, addressed to the AMLC and Ombudsman. But I know you won’t do that because you’re afraid of the truth. I know you’re corrupt, just like your family.)

‘Fake news’

Trillanes also slammed the “fake” bank accounts being spread by pro-Duterte websites and personalities, such as dancer turned Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and radio commentator Erwin Tulfo.

The senator said he would soon file libel charges against Uson and Tulfo for propagating supposed lies against him.

Trillanes said two of the banks mentioned by the Duterte camp – Nova Scotia Bank and Hongkong Shanghai Bank – are non-existent.

The senator said the legitimate bank is called Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, commonly known as HSBC. The bank has branches in the Philippines.

A quick Google search would also show that there is no Nova Scotia Bank, just a Bank of Nova Scotia, operating as Scotiabank.

Trillanes earlier said he is willing to accompany the Ombudsman and journalists to some of the actual banks mentioned to prove that he is not hiding anything.

Duterte, meanwhile, said he would also pursue cases against Trillanes in connection with the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). Trillanes allegedly used DAP funds to pay 200 consultants, which Duterte said is questionable. – Rappler.com