Alejano challenges Duterte to sign waiver or resign

MANILA, Philippines — Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Wednesday challenged President Rodrigo Duterte to make good on his promise not to tolerate corruption and sign a bank waiver that would allow a scrutiny of his alleged accounts after it was reported that the ombudsman launched a fact-finding probe into the wealth of the family of the chief executive.

Alejano said that he felt vindicated by a report that quoted Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang as saying that the details of the documents his office received from the Anti-Money Laundering Council and those in the papers submitted by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV were "more or less" the same.

"Ang tanong ngayon ay, magsa-SIGN ba siya ng waiver o tutuparin niya ang kanyang pangako at magre-RESIGN?" said the Magdalo party-list representative.

READ: Palace on ombudsman's probe into wealth: Duterte has nothing to hide

A newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Office of the Ombudsman acted on the complaint of Trillanes and started looking into the wealth of the Duterte family which allegedly amounted to billions of pesos.

According to the report, Carandang authorized the request of the deputy ombudsman for Mindanao to obtain from the AMLC its final report on the Duterte family's bank transaction records when the president was still mayor of his hometown of Davao City.

The president's office said that he respected the internal process of the ombudsman and trusted its impartiality in conducting the investigation.

The accusations of the senator that the president had clandestine wealth started during last year's national election campaign when Trillanes alleged that then-Mayor Duterte had P211 million deposited in the Bank of the Philippine Islands branch in Julia Vargas, Pasig City.

The president has denied owning such a huge amount of money and vowed in the past to resign should this be proven.

"Pirma mo lang sa waiver ang kailangan. Ikaw mismo ang nagsabi na kahit katiting lang na bahid ng korapsyon ay hindi mo kukunsintihin," the opposition congressman said.

"Make good on your promise of not tolerating corruption."

READ: Duterte says he inherited millions disputing unexplained wealth allegation

Duterte has insisted that the special power of attorney he issued to Salvador Panelo, then one of his campaign lawyers, is still valid, and this could be used to look into his alleged accounts.

However, Trillanes contended that this was not enough since this would not show the account's transaction history, a claim Panelo denies.

Alejano also rued the hasty dismissal in May of the impeachment complaint he filed against the president at the House of Representatives, saying that the chamber could have used the opportunity to ferret out the truth.

The House Committee on Justice deemed the Alejano complaint as sufficient in form but not in substance as the congressman did not have personal knowledge of the allegations in the charge.

"I firmly believe that Duterte has billions in his bank accounts," Alejano said.

The Magdalo congressman added the president had been hiding his wealth and been deceiving the public.

He said: "Isa-isa na po nating nadidiskubre ang kanyang mga kasinungalingan."

READ: Alejano: House 'consistently inconsistent' in tackling impeachment cases