Duterte dares Trillanes to prove allegations on SALN

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (L) and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER/CDN FILE PHOTOS

(Updated) “That’s garbage. Prove it,” said leading presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte over Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s claims that the tough-talking mayor had P211 million undeclared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

READ: Trillanes: Duterte didn’t declare P211M in SALN

Duterte signed a waiver in March that would allow the opening of their bank accounts for public scrutiny. But the mayor backtracked from his earlier pronouncement.

“Not anymore. I’ll make it difficult for Trillanes. It’s just a piece of paper. You prove it. Why will I give it to him?  I’ll take the waiver and I will tell him, ‘Prove it. I will not make it easy for you. I will not play into your hands. You prove it,’” Duterte told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the Presidential Dialogue with the Makati Business Club on Wednesday.

Trillanes said Duterte had at least P211 million in an account at a bank branch in Metro Manila in 2014. The senator said the mayor did not declare the P211 million in his SALN.

He described the claims of Trillanes as “fabricated.”

“Maniwala ba kayo ng mga ganoon? Hindi na tayo umabot ng endgame ng eleksyon. Kung hindi na ako nag-number one, bakit hindi nila nilabas ito noon? Last two weeks (na),” he said.

(Do you believe them? We haven’t reached the endgame of the elections. If I weren’t number one, why didn’t they show this before? It’s the last two weeks already.)

During his speech before business leaders, Duterte warned that Trillanes was a “dangerous man.”

Duterte earlier called Trillanes an “idiot” after the senator claimed that the mayor had told him how he killed people kneeling before him.

READ: Be careful with that ‘idiot,’ Duterte warns of Trillanes

The mayor has denied the senator’s allegations.

In a separate interview at the sidelines of the same event, Duterte’s running mate Alan Peter Cayetano said the bank secrecy waiver still stands.

“He (Duterte) said he wouldn’t sign it again because he signed already. Duterte is nitpicking,” Cayetano told reporters.

“Ito, na-sign na oh. You can bring that to the Central Bank and to any bank. That is a waiver we have authorized,” the senator added, showing the waiver to reporters. JE
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