Trillanes' supposed Singapore bank account 'does not exist'

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV was in Singapore on Tuesday to disprove claims by President Rodrigo Duterte and the president's supporters that he has money hidden in banks there.

 

According to a report on Interaksyon, the DBS Bank branch at the Alexandra Retail Center in Singapore refused to issue a certification that he does not have an account there because he is a non-client.

 

A teller at the branch, however, said that Account No. 178000296012 does not exist. Duterte said last week that the senator has a bank account at DBS with that account number and that the account had "193,000" of some unspecified currency.

 

The president also said Trillanes has $75,000 or P3,801,385.05 in a bank account numbered 927519921320 in Zurich.

 

"A closer look at his bank account documents in Zurich and Singapore reveals the name Antonio F. Trillanes," Duterte, who has in the past made claims that were inconsistent with actual data, said.

 

READ: President Duterte gives details about alleged Trillanes wealth 

 

News5's Mae Anne Los Baños also reported on Interaksyon that Trillanes then went to Raffles Tower to look for Hongkong Shanghai Bank, where he is said to have SGD 278,300 in a joint account with a certain Robert Fong. There was no such bank there.

 

Trillanes also went to a mall on Raffles Boulevard but only found an ATM, not a bank branch there.

 

The senator, who has been critical of Duterte even during the 2016 election campaign, signed bank secrecy waivers last week to allow scrutiny of bank accounts he has been accused of having and that he denies having.

 

The signing of the waivers was preceded by information on his 12 alleged bank accounts circulating on the internet through the page of broadcast journalist Erwin Tulfo, the blog of Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and the Davao Breaking News website.

 

READ: Duterte still refuses to sign bank waiver, but admits co-owning bank account with Sara

 

Bank waivers were issued for all these accounts, according to Trillanes, paving the way for scrutiny by the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

"Lahat nung mga binigay na accounts na nakuha natin dito sa mga sources na ito ay gumawa ako ng tig-iisang waiver. Pinirmahan ko ito duly notarized at received by the Anti-Money Laundering Council at yung sa Ombudsman nandun na rin," he said.