Vice President Sara Duterte said Friday, Nov. 15, that she was aware of the supposed bank accounts and bank transactions that the Duterte family’s fierce critic, former senator Antonio Trillanes, showed during a House hearing to prove how they purportedly benefited from drug money.
Duterte said she already had the list of the supposed bank accounts and transactions, which were first released in 2016 at the height of the former administration's war against drugs, and went to the banks to check on all of them to have clarity.
"Tinanong ko sila isa-isa, [tungkol] sa mga nakapangalan sakin at yung mga accounts. Meron talagang mga accounts doon na hindi alam ng bangko, hindi ko rin alam (I asked the banks about the accounts that are named under me. They said, there were really accounts under my name but they did not know about it. I also did not know about it)," she said in an interview after the 89th founding anniversary celebration of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
"Andoon sya sa listahan. So pinadalhan ko yung bangko, [tinanong ko] bakit may ganito. Sabi nila, baka non-existent talaga 'yan na mga accounts (The bank accounts were on my list. So I asked the banks about it, and they said, maybe they were just really non-existent accounts)," Duterte added.
During a House quad-committee hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 13, Trillanes presented supposed bank documents and "paper trails" that showed the amount received by the Duterte family allegedly due to drug trade.
Among those who sent money to the Dutertes was a known drug lord, according to Trillanes. And that the Duterte administration's war on drugs was allegedly only a cover-up of the family's involvement in illegal drugs trade, Trillanes claimed.
Trillanes presentation of bank documents led to an almost chaos at the House hearing as former president Rodrigo Duterte lost his cool over the former's accusation.
The former president said he was willing to sign a waiver for the committee to be able to check his bank accounts and belie Trillanes' claim; but in return, he would be allowed to slap the former senator.