A Philippines Senator on Thursday accused the country’s President Rodrigo Duterte of stashing more than $40 million (approximately Rs 268.10 crore) in bank accounts while he was the mayor of the city of Davao. Antonio Trillanes IV called on Duterte to release details of his bank accounts to the public and said he would resign if the president could disprove the accusations against him, AP reported.
“I know he will not release [the bank details] and he will not accept my challenge because it will be proven that he is really a corrupt official,” Trillanes said.
However, Duterte dismissed the allegations and said he would resign if the senator could prove them. “This is actually an old and rehashed issue,” Duterte said, adding that the country’s public had voted him into power despite Trillanes having made the allegations during the May 2016 elections. Presidential Spokesperson E Abella said Duterte would not release his bank details to respond to “grandstanding”, despite suggesting that he would do so as part of a legal process.
In May 2016, Trillanes had released documents allegedly showing more than $48 million (approximately Rs 321.72 crore) having been deposited in Duterte’s accounts between 2006 and 2015. According to the documents, Duterte had also deposited some of the money in joint accounts with those close to him, including his relatives, Reuters reported.
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