Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV scoffed at President Duterte’s response to Sen. Manny Pacquiao's allegations of corruption, Duterte ordered concerned government agencies to cooperate in any investigation.
Trillanes, a staunch critic of Duterte, recalled his experience when when he dared the President to sign a waiver on his bank accounts to disprove allegations of hidden wealth.
“Ang tapang ni Duterte kay Pacquiao, sabi nya mag-cooperate daw lahat sa investigation. Pero nung pinapapirma ko ng waiver para sa P2.2 billion BPI bank accounts nya, napakaraming alibi (Duterte was brave to Pacquiao, he said he will cooperate with all the investigation. But when I asked him to sign the waiver for the P2.2 billion BPI bank accounts, he had many alibis),” he said in a recent Twitter post.
In September 2017, Duterte refused to sign a bank secrecy waiver similar to that signed by Trillanes. The Chief Executive argued that signing a waiver would be construed as self-incrimination and tantamount to giving in to the former senator.
Trillanes alleged that Duterte has P211 million in one of his bank accounts. Duterte also never released his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) since 2018, citing the Office of the Ombudsman’s most recent guidelines.
The former senator joined the fray over an exchange of words between Duterte and Pacquiao involving the allegations of corruption in government.
In his speech in Antipolo City last Thursday, the Chief Executive once again hurled expletives at Pacquiao after the latter remarked that the current administration was "three times more corrupt" than its predecessor.
READ: Duterte tells Pacquiao to 'work,' orders agencies to fully cooperate in probe
The boxer-turned-politician named the Department of Health (DOH) when he accepted Duterte’s dare to identify corrupt agencies under his administration.
But Malacañang said the DOH already faced the Senate over its coronavirus pandemic response but no cases were filed.
Trillanes, who is a member of the Magdalo Group, bared his plan to reveal a corruption expose against Duterte and his longtime aide Senator Christopher Go in the coming week.
“Next week, may ilalabas akong corruption nila Duterte at Bong Go (I will reveal the corruption activities involving Duterte and Bong Go),” Trillanes also tweeted.