Roxas says Duterte's showing of bank accounts only 'hocus pocus'

NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur –  Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Manuel Roxas II on Thursday dismissed as “hocus pocus” Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s move to reveal the contents of his bank accounts to dispel allegations that he has hidden wealth.

 

Roxas questioned why Duterte did not show the history of the peso accounts as well as the amounts that were deposited to and withdrawn from them.

 

LOOK: Duterte shows balance of BPI dollar, peso accounts

 

“It was just a hocus pocus. He showed the bank books in dollars. If it was that easy to show the bank books, why did he not show the peso accounts? What is the history of these peso accounts? How much was deposited to or withdrawn from them?” he told reporters in Legazpi City Thursday.

 

Roxas noted that Duterte had admitted that he has less than P200 million in his bank accounts.

 

“Will he shirk from this again? That is the record of Mayor Duterte. He will say something and then evade it once faced with data,” the presidential candidate said.  

 

“He flip-flops. He cannot be trusted. His mouth tells lies,” he added.

 

Roxas said Duterte should explain his alleged hidden bank accounts to the public.

 

Earlier, vice presidential candidate Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV accused Duterte of failing to declare billions of assets in his statement of assets and liabilities and net worth. Trillanes said Duterte’s undeclared wealth include more than P211 million deposited in a bank account in the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Julia Vargas branch.

 

RELATED: Trillanes bares list of Duterte properties

 

In an attempt to belie the senator’s allegations, Duterte showed on Wednesday 11 passbooks of his peso and dollar accounts at the said BPI branch.

 

Duterte’s bank certification of deposit, a joint account with his daughter Sara, showed he only has P17,816.93 in his savings as of March 31, 2014.

 

The mayor also claimed that the bank account had P17,766.98 as of Dec. 31, 2014 and P74,734.30 as of April 29, 2016. One of Duterte’s passbooks in the same branch also showed that he has P128,829.34.

 

Duterte also presented to the media a BPI bank certification of deposit showing that he only had around P17,817 a few days after large deposits were said to be made. The money from the same passbook rose to P128,829.34 after some of his supporters deposited money after Trillanes accused him of amassing hidden wealth. The tough-talking mayor also has $5,021 in his BPI dollar account as of March 31, 2014.