Palace urges Duterte to face allegations of undeclared wealth

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. EEB/INQUIRER PHOTO

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte should face all the allegations raised against him, including his undeclared millions, Malacañang said on Saturday.

“Ito ay isang bagay na kailangan harapin ng magiting na Mayor Duterte (The great Mayor Duterte should face these issues),” said Communications Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III in an interview over state-run dzRB radio.

Quezon said issues about money, especially those that involved public officials, should be taken seriously.

“The people are confused because as we can see in the past days, the good mayor’s version of the story changes from day to day,” he said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV earlier claimed that Duterte had over P200 million in his Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) account in its Julia Vargas, Pasig City, branch.

Duterte dismissed the claim as mere fabrication but had been flippant in his remarks regarding his BPI account.

“First, he said there was no account, then he said there’s one but it has little money. Later he said there’s an account that contains millions but not amounting to P200 million,” Quezon said. “Pang-happy-happy lang naman daw (Just enough for a good time).”

Trillanes earlier dared Duterte to meet at the BPI branch to sign a waiver allowing the opening of his bank account which allegedly contained P227 million.

Duterte agreed to Trillanes’ challenge, saying he had authorized his lawyer, Salvador Panelo, to open his bank records for scrutiny.

The mayor, however, said he wouldn’t make it to Pasig City on Monday since he would be in Davao City.

“Based on our knowledge and as reported last night, he won’t be at the bank branch because he’s going home to Davao,” said Quezon.

The mayor, however, said he expected Trillanes to meet his lawyer at the bank with his affidavit detailing how, when, where and for what purpose the senator obtained the account information. RC