Trillanes says he doesn’t expect Duterte to heed calls to sign bank secrecy waiver

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Sunday said that he does not expect President Rodrigo Duterte to heed calls to sign a bank secrecy waiver amid allegations of multi-billion peso bank accounts.

In an interview on radio dzBB, Trillanes said that Tindig Pilipinas' signature drive is also meant to inform the public about the President's alleged hidden wealth.

"Actually in-expect natin na hindi siya makikinig pero itong isang objective nitong signature campaign is also to educate and inform yung mga kababayan natin kung ano ang issue tungkol sa bank accounts na ito nang sa ganon habang tikom 'yung bibig kakalat-kalat itong ganitong pagdududa sa kanyang credibility and integrity," he said.

Trillanes also denied that the signature drive was a destabilization attempt against the administration.

"Eh kapraningan 'yan, 'kasi information drive eh. Alam naman natin yung destabilization sa hindi, yung destabilization ayan yung nagrerecruit ka ng mga sundalo...or may mga pinaplano kayong mga coup, maliwanag 'yon, walang ganyan dito," he said.

"Kahit na sinabi na mismo ng DND [Department of National Defense] at ng AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] na walang ganon, walang recruitment, walang coup na pinaplano, wala silang nahahagip so maliwanag 'yon. Pagkaginagawa niyong ganyan eh kapraningan 'yan at political persecution 'yan," he added.

Cause-oriented group Tindig Pilipinas on Saturday launched a signature drive urging Duterte to sign a bank secrecy waiver to end doubts about his supposed unexplained wealth.

The group held a rally at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City on Saturday afternoon, attended by the members of the opposition, including Trillanes.

Duterte has repeatedly denied that he has P2 billion in bank accounts, saying that his lifetime savings would not exceed P40 million.

The Office of the Ombudsman said that it had started an investigation into the wealth of Duterte and his family based on Trillanes' complaint. — Marlly Rome Bondoc/BM, GMA News