Duterte says he doesn't know 'Snooky' in Trillanes' speech

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte Wednesday denied knowing Daniel “Snooky” Cruz, his alleged source of information on Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s supposed offshore bank accounts, saying the only “Snooky” he knows are the actress and the comic strip character.  

 

“Ang kilala kong si Snooky ‘yung artista pati ‘yung sa comics, sa totoo lang (The Snooky I know is the actress and the one in the comic book),” Duterte said in a press conference after his meeting with the parents of hazing victim Horacio Castillo III in Malacañan.

 

The president was referring to actress Snooky Serna and Snoopy, the beagle in the comic strip “Peanuts.” The president also denied spending huge sums to get information about Trillanes’ bank accounts.

 

“I will not spend any single centavo for him. He is not worth even one peso to me,” Duterte said.

 

In a privilege speech delivered last Tuesday, Trillanes claimed that the documents Duterte was citing to prove that he has secret bank accounts came from Cruz, whom he said was a former US federal agent and financial forensics expert.

 

READ: Trillanes: Duterte bought info on supposed offshore accounts for P10 million

 

Trillanes said Duterte had paid P10 million for the documents but Cruz only received P3 million.

 

Citing unnamed sources, Trillanes said Cruz offered the documents last year but made it appear that the bank accounts belonged to Sen. Leila de Lima, another critic of the president who is now in jail over drug-related cases.

Malacañang belittled Trillanes’ allegations, saying it was “empty as the hall he spoke in.”

 

“The privilege speech of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV had nothing new to offer by way of information or insight,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.

 

Abella said Trillanes did not present any proof to substantiate his claims except photos of Cruz with Duterte and other government officials, which he said are obviously taken from social networks.

 

Abella noted that the Anti-Money Laundering Council had already denied being the source of the documents attached by Trillanes in his complaint against the president.

 

“The AMLC mentioned that the total amounts of the alleged bank accounts are wrong and misleading,” he added.

 

READ: Belying Duterte's claim, DBS Bank says accounts can't be closed online

 

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Trillanes’ claim that Duterte paid millions to get the bank documents was “absurd” and “without logic.”

 

“Sen. Trillanes is well aware that the President as the Chief Executive and the Commander-in-chief has ready access to the vast array of information of the intelligence network of the Philippine government. Thus, paying any supposed financial forensic expert for any such information is clearly against logic and common sense,” Panelo said. 

 

“If Senator Trillanes believes in the truthfulness of his take, we challenge him to repeat his speech outside of Congress and beyond the cloak of his parliamentary immunity,” he added.