Duterte willing to open bank accounts to anti-corruption body

President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed willingness to allow the anti-corruption body he formed last year to scrutinize his bank accounts.

Speaking at the oath-taking ceremony for members of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) on Tuesday night, Duterte said he would resign from his post if it is proven that his lifetime savings exceed P40 million.

"Ano mang silipin mo sa akin? You want to know my bank accounts? I’ll give it to you, right now. I will give you the authority, honestly, wala kayong makuha," Duterte said.

"If it exceeds 40 million kasali ko na ang inheritance ko noon...Magsobra diyan, I step down. Sige, kunin ninyo. Hindi ganun kalakas ang loob ko kung may masilip ka sa akin. Hindi ganun kalakas ang loob ko," he added.

The President also advised his political foes not to get evidence from "my mouth or make me do the effort."

"You go to hell. But do not task me to do a thing na para lang maghanap ka ng --- you go into a fishing expedition," he said.

Reacting to Duterte's pronouncement, PACC Commissioner Greco Belgica said the mandate of the commission does not include probing the President.

"Our mandate is to investigate and report corrupt presidential appointees and recommend actions to be taken. Not the President," Belgica told GMA News Online.

"He said he is willing to open his account to everyone. Not to his accusers. It's up to the accuser to produce the evidence against his subject," he added.

Formed through Executive Order 43 last October, the PACC is tasked to investigate presidential appointees and other public officers allegedly involved in graft and corrupt practices, or have committed other higher crimes and/or violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The commission is also empowered to conduct lifestyle checks and fact-finding inquiries on presidential appointees suspected of wrongdoing, including those outside the Executive branch.

The Office of the Ombudsman had said its fact-finding probe into the Duterte family's bank transactions was terminated on November 29 last year, blaming its end on the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) failure to submit data pertaining to the bank accounts.

The Ombudsman's probe stemmed from the plunder complaint of administration critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who claimed Duterte had bank transactions amounting to P2.2 billion from September 2006 to December 2015. — RSJ, GMA News