Trillanes to bare 'well-documented' example of Duterte, Go's alleged anomalous transactions next week

Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Friday said he will reveal a “well-documented” example of graft that was allegedly committed by President Rodrigo Duterte and  Senator Bong Go to back his claim that Malacañang is the “most corrupt” government agency.

In an interview with reporters, Trillanes said Duterte is just “bluffing” Senator Manny Pacquiao when the President challenged the lawmaker to identify the government agencies where corruption is proliferated.

“Nahihinaan naman ako sa position ni Pacquiao na uunahin ang [Department of Health] e ang pinaka-corrupt na opisina sa gobyerno ay ang Malacanang mismo. Sila Duterte mismo. So dun mo makikita na hindi kayang banggain ni Pacquiao directly si Duterte sa ngayon,” Trillanes said.

(I find Pacquiao’s move naming DOH as a corrupt agency as a weak action because Malacañang is the most corrupt government agency in the country. It is President Duterte who is the most corrupt. So there you can see that Pacquiao cannot directly hit Duterte.)

“Kaya ang sabi ko nga next week maglalabas ako ng matibay na example ng corruption ni Duterte mismo at ni Bong Go. So covered ito ng documents so abangan na lang nila next week,” he added.

(That is why I will reveal one solid of example of corruption where Duterte and Bong Go themselves are involved.)

His revelations will include documents during Duterte’s stint as Davao City mayor up to his presidency.

Trillanes said these documents were gathered before his term as senator expired in 2019.

Moreover, the former senator said he is not doing this because of the upcoming 2022 national and local elections.

“Well, regardless kung kakandidato ka kung plunderer ka, kailangan pa rin malaman ng tao 'yon,” he said.

(Whether you will run in the coming elections or not, if you are a plunderer, the people have the right to know it.)

Trillanes also claimed that corruption during Duterte’s administration is a hundred times worse than the alleged proliferation of graft under late former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s watch.

“Kung basis is the Aquino administration, 10 times or 100 times itong kay Duterte pero kay [former president] Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, siguro nga gan'on, three times pa rin kay GMA kasi may drugs e,” he said.

(If the basis is the Aquino administration, corruption during Duterte’s term is 10 times or 100 times worse, but if compared with GMA’s administration, maybe three times worse because there were drug issues that are involved.)

“Mas higit ito kasi may mga drugs ito e. Pati drugs pinasukan nitong Davao group. In that sense, mas mabigat, mas malala,” the former lawmaker said.

(This administration is worst because the Davao group has even entered the drug business.)

Trillanes gave the Duterte administration an overall score of 15 over 100.

“Kung 100 [ang highest], nasa 15 siya (If 100 is the highest score, he got 15),” he said.

“‘Yung 15 na ‘yon ay dahil sa mga ginawa sa [Armed Forces of the Philippines] na pinagpatuloy ang reforms du’n, ‘yung reorganization pati ang pag-increase ng benefits ng uniformed personnel, ‘yun lang. Lagpak,” the retired Philippine Navy officer explained.

(That score is because he continued the reforms in the AFP and he increased the benefits of the uniformed personnel. That’s all.)

Trillanes said the public must expect that Duterte will deliver a “pre-campaign” speech in his sixth and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26.

“We have to expect na itong last SONA ni Duterte ay mambobola siya kasi ito na ‘yung pre-campaign speech niya in an official capacity,” he said.

(We have to expect that in his last SONA, he will sway people with his words as this will be his last pre-campaign speech in an official capacity.)

“Talagang magke-create ‘yan sila ng fantasy world para mabudol-budol ulit ang taumbayan before the elections pero alam naman ng mga kababayan natin kung ano talaga ang nangyari at ginawa niya in the past five years so wala nang gaanong effect ‘yang mga kasinungalingan ni Duterte,” he added.

(He will create a fantasy world to persuade more people before the elections but I know that our countrymen already know what had happened in the past five years. So Duterte’s lies will not have the same effect to the people.)

Trillanes dared Duterte anew to show to the public that he is not hiding something, reiterating his call for the President to sign the waiver that will disclose details of his bank account.

“Itong pinakaiwas-iwasan niya ngayong magpepresenta siya ulit bilang kandidato, dapat ipakita niya na wala siyang tinatago talaga,” he said.

Trillanes said his challenge for Duterte to sign the bank waivers still stands.

“Hanggang ngayon, that offer is standing. Ang sabi ko nga pilit niya akong ipinapakulong. Pumirma lang s’ya ng waiver ng Bank Secrecy Law para makita ang bank accounts niya sa BPI at pag mali ang aking allegations magwo-walk in ako sa kahit na anong kulungan,” he said.

(Until now, that offer is standing. He wants to put me in jail but I dare him to just sign the waiver and if my allegations are not true, I, myself, will walk inside any jails.)

“So imbes na nag-iimbento siya ng mga kaso laban sa akin ito lang pipirma lang siya ng waiver at gagawin ko ‘yan,” he added.

According to Trillanes, Duterte’s deposits in his account at a local bank in Pasig reached up to P2.2 billion.

This excludes the amount of money in Duterte’s another bank account which, Trillanes said, they failed to investigate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He claimed that a former deputy ombudsman has investigated the bank accounts in 2018.

“Sinabi ng deputy ombudsman na ‘yung dokumento na nakuha ko ay kaparehas ng nakuha nila sa [Anti-Money Laundering Council] na billions ang transaction. Anong ginawa ni Duterte? Pinatanggal niya ang deputy ombudsman na ‘yon na nag-iimbestiga sa kanya. So dapat maliwanag na ito kung sino ang pinaka-corrupt dito sa bayan natin,” he said.

(That deputy ombudsman told me that the documents I got are the same with what they got from the AMLC. What Duterte did is remove the deputy ombudsman who investigated that. That shows us who is the most corrupt in our nation.)

In January 2018, Malacanang suspended Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang for unauthorized disclosures of the alleged bank transactions of President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.

Carandang was dismissed from service in July 2018.

GMA News Online asked Malacanang for comment but has yet to respond as of posting time.

Go, for his part, said he is used to Trillanes' accusations.

"Sanay na tayo diyan. Maglalabas ng akusasyon, hindi naman kayang patunayan kasi puro imbento lang ang nalalaman (We are used to that. He will make accusations but he has no evidence to back it up)," Go said in a press statement.

The lawmaker claimed that Trillanes is making these accusations because the 2022 polls is fast approaching.

He insisted that Duterte remain consistent with his campaign against corruption, saying there are government officials being suspended every week.

“Pero kung puro patutsada at paninira lang, sayang lang po oras natin sa mga imbentong kwento ni Trillanes. At kung may alam talaga siya bakit po next week pa?” Go asked.

(We are wasting our time with Trillanes' accusations. If he really has evidence against us, why wait next week to reveal it?)—AOL, GMA News