MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday, October 14, joined calls for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign a bank secrecy waiver on Saturday, October 14.

De Lima, in jail for drug charges, made the call through a message read at the “Pirma, hindi Porma” event of opposition group Tindig Pilipinas at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

The group launched a signature campaign urging the President to sign the bank waiver to settle questions about his alleged unexplained wealth.

“Ginoong Duterte: ‘Wag kang magkubli sa kasinungalingan mo. Kung talagang wala kang itinatago sa Pilipino: Pirma, hindi porma (Mr Duterte: Don’t hide behind your lies. If you really have nothing to hide to Filipinos: Sign, don’t posture),” De Lima said in a message read by former Civil Service Commission chairperson Karina Constantino David.

Tindig Pilipinas, in its petition, said: “We, the Filipino people, call on President Duterte to sign the waiver on the secrecy of bank accounts. We deserve a transparent and accountable leader….To end all doubts on alleged corruption and unexplained wealth, we ask the President to sign the waiver now.”

Tindig Pilipinas also urged Duterte to stop his attacks on opposition figures. De Lima and her allies have long insisted that the drug charges against her are false and only meant to silence the senator, who is among Duterte’s most vocal critics.

“Kung gaano kadaldal si Duterte sa pagbibintang, pagbabanta at pananakot sa kanyang mga kritiko, ganoon naman siya katahimik sa pagsagot sa mga akusasyon laban sa kanya ng katiwalian. ‘Yung akala mo eh matapang na Pangulo, duwag naman pala,” the senator said.

(Duterte talks a lot when he makes accusations and threats against his critics but he’s silent when it comes to corruption allegations against him. You’d think the President is fearless but he’s a coward.)

“Duwag na pirmahan ang waiver para maisapubliko ang kanyang bank accounts, at malaman ang totoo. Duwag na tanggapin na palpak ang kanyang war on drugs na  pumatay na ng mahigit 13,000 na mahihirap na Pilipino, at dinamay pa ang mga inosenteng bata. Duwag na harapin ang kanyang mga kritiko, kaya umaasa sa pambabastos at pag-iimbento ng kuwento para malihis ang atensyon ng mga Pilipino,” she added.

(He is afraid to sign the waiver and make public his bank accounts, so the truth would be made known. He’s a coward to accept the failure of his war on drugs that has killed over 13,000 poor Filipinos, including innocent children; in facing critics so he instead turns to foul language and false stories to distract the Filipino people.)

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court voted to junk De Lima’s petition against her arrest order, keeping her behind bars. De Lima said she would file a motion for reconsideration, even as she thanked the 6 justices who voted in her favor.

The senator, a justice secretary during the previous administration, also criticized Duterte for his attacks on persons leading key institutions in government – Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, and Commission on Human Rights Chair Chito Gascon.

“Nasosobrahan na yata sa paglanghap ng Fentanyl itong si Duterte (It seems like Duterte has had too much Fentanyl),” said De Lima, referring to a pain killer Duterte himself has admitted to using in the past.

De Lima also hit the President for his recent statements, made on the wrong premise, against ambassadors of the European Union and the United Nations.

“Sayang ang inilobong bilyon-bilyong intel funds ng Malacañang, kung mali-maling impormasyon lang din pala ang naibubulong kay Duterte (The billions for the intel funds for Malacañang would go to waste if Duterte is fed wrong information),” she said.

The neophyte senator insisted that criticism and comments against the current administration did not equal destabilization.

“Sagutin na lang niya ang pinanggagalingan ng kritisismo, hindi puro pagmumura, pananakot at pagbabanta ang paborito niyang gawin (He should just address the roots of these criticisms without resorting to curses and threats which he is fond of doing),” she added. 

The Office of the Ombudsman is probing a complaint against Duterte and his family over allegations of another presidential nemesis, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, that the President has undeclared bank accounts.

Trillanes, who attended the event, again gave details of the alleged bank accounts of Duterte, and alleged that there were nearly P2 billion in deposits in one account.

Duterte had responded to the probe by first threatening investigate the Ombudsman for alleged “partiality” and later, declaring that he would push for the impeachment of Morales. – Rappler.com