Trillanes taunts Duterte: ‘He must be the poorest billionaire in PHL’

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Sunday chided President Rodrigo Duterte, whom he has accused of corrupt activities, and called him the poorest billionaire in the Philippines.

"Si Duterte siguro ang pinakamahirap na bilyonaryo sa Pilipinas," Trillanes said in a rally commemorating the anniversary of the EDSA Revolution.

PANOORIN: Sen. Antonio Trillanes, muling bumanat laban kay Pang. Duterte sa pakikiisa sa anibersaryo ng EDSA Uno sa People Power Monument. | via @dzbbsamnielsen pic.twitter.com/3Oizq9iMFV

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) February 25, 2018

Trillanes likened the corruption allegations against Duterte to the issues hurled against the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was overthrown during the EDSA Revolution.

"Napakita natin 'yan doon sa kanilang mga bank accounts. At hindi lang 'yan, meron pa siyang aabot ng 40 na ari-arian na hindi niya na-declare sa SALN," Trillanes said.

Trillanes in 2016 claimed that Duterte had at least P211 million in an account at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) which he failed to declare in his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN).

Duterte admitted he owned bank accounts at the said branch, but said that the funds in the accounts were only in thousands.

In September 2017, Duterte then accused Trillanes of having offshore accounts that are being used to destabilize the government.

Trillanes then flew to Singapore that same month to check on the supposed accounts, where he was informed by a bank branch manager that there was no such account.

Duterte then said he made up the wrong account number to fool Trillanes.

Duterte also claimed that Trillanes closed his bank account in Singapore before he signed a waiver and flew out of the country to disprove the Chief Executive's claims.

On September 27, the Office of the Ombudsman said it has sufficient basis to start its probe into the alleged multi-billion peso wealth of the President.

On September 30, Duterte said he would not submit to the jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman.

Just this month, the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed the termination of its fact-finding investigation, blaming the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for failing to submit the requested data.

Trillanes on Sunday also repeated his claims that there were "ghost employees" during Duterte's term as Davao City Mayor.

"Meron pa tayong nadiskubre na ghost employees na umaabot sa 11,000. [Ang] nakukubra [nila] 700 million kada taon. Ito ay nakalap na natin 'yang mga dokumento at na-file nga natin 'yan sa Ombudsman," he said.

Duterte has since said he only hired contractual employees which he defended by saying it was his duty to keep the city safe and clean. — BM, GMA News