‘If we wanted to hide properties, why put them under our name?’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Former mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio did not mince words when she described Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV as “gung-gung”  (stupid) for his effort to cast doubt on the credibility of her father, presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and members of their family a week before the May 9 elections. 

“You are making it appear as if my husband and I do not have the right to buy property using money we have worked for. My husband and I are lawyers, do you think that if we’d want to hide it we’d still declare it under our names? You knew about these properties precisely because we have not hidden it. Stupid. At least both of us are working, how about you?” she said partly in Filipino.

As lawyers, she added, they both have good income and could afford to buy real estate.

She criticized the timing of Trillanes’ exposés, which “clearly reeks of malice in the intent to destroy” her father who surged in recent presidential surveys.

She challenged Trillanes to explain his wealth “which is beyond what he should be earning as a Navy officer.”

The former mayor reiterated her dare for Trillanes to just sue her father instead of coming out in the media accusing the mayor of amassing unexplained wealth. 

Sara, who is running for city mayor, is winding up her 30-day Biyaheng Du30 bus tour tomorrow after campaigning for her father in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Meanwhile, a pediatric dentist in Cagayan de Oro City yesterday said he owns one of the 41 real properties cited by Trillanes as belonging to Mayor Duterte.

On his Facebook account, Gian Paolo Duterte said his name has been dragged into the controversy by Trillanes as he stressed that he is not related to the mayor although they have the same surname.

“It is unfortunate that my name has been publicly mentioned in the GMA news report last April 29, 2016, of which Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV accused Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his family of possessing illegally amassed properties,” the dentist said.

He added that he practiced dentistry for seven years, was able to establish a number of clients and secured a loan from the Bank of the Philippine Islands to buy the Cagayan de Oro City lot that was mentioned in the reports.

Trillanes furnished GMA News a list of the properties supposedly owned by Mayor Duterte, aside from bank accounts and transactions.

“I’ve been doing private practice as a dental medicine professional and have never been a politician. I never sought any elected position in the past nor ran for public office. Furthermore, our roots come from Cebu and I’ve yet to establish the degree or any connection whatsoever on how the good Mayor Duterte and I are related,” the dentist said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) also denied yesterday that they are the source of information on the alleged bank accounts of the presidential frontrunner.

“We would like to categorically state that the BSP and the AMLC are not the source of documents and information being cited by a vice-presidential candidate regarding the alleged bank accounts of a certain presidential candidate,” BSP officer-in-charge and deputy governor Vicente Aquino said in a statement.  – With Robertzon Ramirez, Charmie Joy Pagulong, Lawrence Agcaoili