CONTRARY to his claim that he was a poor man, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had at least P211 million in an account at a bank branch in Metro Manila in 2014, according to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

As mayor, Duterte receives a monthly pay of P78,946 (Salary Grade 30) under the government salary standardization law prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.

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Duterte, a presidential candidate, did not declare the P211 million in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), said Trillanes, a vice presidential candidate.

Failure to declare an asset is a ground for an employee’s dismissal from government service.

In his 2014 SALN, Duterte reported a net worth of P21,971,732.62—assets worth P22,971,732.62 and a liability of P1 million, a personal loan from a certain Samuel Uy.

Duterte held the account at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch on Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig City jointly with daughter Sara, who used the maiden name of her mother, Zimmerman.

Sara served as Davao City mayor in 2010 to 2013, with her father as vice mayor.

Father and daughter gave Ecoland Subdivision in Davao City and P. Guevarra Street in San Juan City in Metro Manila as their home addresses.

Accusing Trillanes as “money for hire,” Duterte denied the existence of the BPI bank account that contained P211 million.

Birthday gifts?

On his 69th birthday on March 28, 2014, eight cash deposits totaling P197 million were credited to Duterte’s bank account in the BPI Julia Vargas branch, records showed.

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Trillanes said the eight deposits consisted of P55,131,747.32, P41,721,035.62, P16,852,832.94, P16,852,782.94 and four P20-million transactions.

The funds were remitted to the BPI account through interbank transfers.

Records also showed that on April 1, 2014, Sara paid cash for a P20-million life with investment insurance policy from BPI-Life Assurance Corp.

Trillanes, who provided the Inquirer data on Duterte’s bank accounts, said he obtained the information from various sources.

Other accounts

“I received the information through my various networks. Mayor Duterte who brags that he is not corrupt and is a simple and poor man should be asked to explain about his secret bank accounts that contained at least P200 million,” the senator said.

Trillanes declined to identify the source of the documents but said he believed in the integrity of the information because they were verifiable.

The account in the BPI Julia Vargas branch was separate from the bank accounts of Sara and her husband, Mans Carpio, Duterte’s sons Paolo and Sebastian and his common-law wife, Cielito Avanceña, that also contained deposits totaling hundreds of millions of pesos, according to Trillanes.

In Duterte’s 2014 SALN, a copy of which was obtained by the Inquirer, the mayor reported cash assets (in hand and in the bank) worth P13,846,732.62, but he did not disclose how and when he acquired these.

He also declared in his SALN that he acquired a piece of agricultural land in Catigan Toril, Davao City, worth P500,000 in 2014.

For his real estate properties, Duterte reported residential lots valued at P1.7 million and agricultural lands valued at P1.7 million.

Duterte declared as personal properties vehicles worth P1.1 million, household appliances and furniture worth P450,000, jewelry worth P300,000 and investments worth P3.8 million.

Car dealer incorporator

Duterte also reported in his SALN that he had been an incorporator of Honda Cars in General Santos City since 1997 and of Poeng Yue Foundation in San Pedro, Davao City, in 2012, but he did not state any income.

The SALN also showed that the value of Duterte’s assets two years ago were higher by just a few hundred pesos than the P21,618,289.73 he declared for 2013.

The SALN is aimed at helping keep public servants honest, since the information it should contain would aid the public in keeping track of any sudden increases in a government employee or official’s wealth.

Apart from his monthly salary of P78,946, Duterte said he also received allowances from various agencies he headed, such as Watershed Management Council, Regional Peace and Order Council, City Peace and Order Council, Investment Incentive Board and Public Private Partnership Board.

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