Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte
Dismissing claims that he amassed ill-gotten wealth, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said he had only around P500,000 in a bank account that he shared with one of his children.
The President said he had a bank account with his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara “Inday” Duterte, as his codepositor, but it contained money that was less than the P200 million that his critics claimed he was hiding.
“I have one with Inday. It’s about P500,000 something,” he told lawyers of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) during their convention in the Manila Hotel.
“I have one and my codepositor is my daughter so that, if something happens to me, my family can immediately use it. That is true,” he said.
“My salary, my codepositor is Inday because I … I trust her. I have little with my (sons) because they only know how to have a good time,” he added in jest.
AMLC challenge
Mr. Duterte said he had challenged the previous Aquino administration and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to look into accounts to find out if he had ill-gotten wealth.
“You look at the bank … during their time—the time of (former Interior Secretary) Mar (Roxas)—I said, ‘Look at it. You have control of everything and machinery,” he said.
“You AMLC who are listening right now, if I’m a money launderer, why don’t you file a case against me?” he added.
Mr. Duterte said he signed a bank waiver before but his critics “did not use it.”
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has challenged the President to sign a new waiver to open all of his bank accounts.
“(He’s) saying I should sign again … Are you making a fool of me? Lucky you. Open everything, including the rural bank. If you see P200 million and confirm it that Duterte has it, I will step down tomorrow,” the President said.