Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (Robby Joy D. Salveron / davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio slammed opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for seeking to probe her, including President Rodrigo Duterte, over their alleged questionable wealth.
“Well I think Trillanes is confused and I think he’s going crazy,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters in an interview on Monday, February 5, moments after Trillanes asked the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies to open the probe.
“I think I’m starting to believe the rumors about his getting hooked on something because there is no other explanation for his obsession with President Duterte,” Duterte-Carpio added.
The Mayor called Trillanes “confused” and cited two points:
– Initially, Senator Trillanes said a certain Joseph de Mesa, his claimed source, gave him documents proving that one of the President’s bank accounts contained over P200 million but Duterte-Carpio said “he cannot produce Mr. de Mesa”
– Trillanes claimed that his source is the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) documents but is also twiting the President for refusing to sign a waiver so that AMLC documents will be issued “So how come he has in his possession purported AMLC documents?,” Duterte-Carpio said.
“He’s not really making sense. It is not helping the country. Taking down the President will not help the country,” she added.
The Mayor mentioned she is willing to go to the Senate if there is any subpoena saying that she respects the authority of the Senate.
When asked if she’s filing a case against Trillanes, Duterte-Carpio said no and maintained that she respects the senator’s opinion. “I respect his opinion but I think he’s really going crazy but I still respect crazy people.”
Trillanes filed Senate Resolution No. 602, which attributed a January 21 VERA Files investigative piece.
In the report, it said President Duterte and his daughter “failed to fully disclose in their Statement of Assests, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) for the past years, their joint deposits and investments under the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) which exceeded P100 million.”
Meanwhile, the Senate resolution included several breakdowns of the Dutertes alleged transactions in BPI:
– A P48.17-million placement in 2006 that grew to P55.13 million by 2013
– A P40.55-million investment in 2009 that stood at P41.72 million in 2013
– About $220,000, roughly P10 million, from 2006 to 2012
– The purchase of P80 million in insurance policies in 2014
– A P16.85-million investment which began in 2014
“As the highest-ranking official of the land, President Rodrigo Duterte and Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as the elected City Mayor of Davao City are classified by the AMLA as ‘politically exposed persons’ under the law and its implementing regulations,” the resolution read. (davaotoday.com)
