Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine presidential race front-runner said Friday he has no ill-gotten wealth after a senator alleged that he had more than 200 million pesos ($4.2 million) in a bank account in 2014 that he failed to declare publicly as required by law.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of southern Davao city said in a news conference that he authorized his lawyer to go to the bank on Monday to explain to his accuser that he did not commit any wrongdoing. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said he was ready to meet Duterte's lawyer at the bank.
The tough-talking Duterte has led voter preference polls ahead of the May 9 elections on a promise to rid the country of crime and corruption within six months if he wins.
Trillanes said earlier this week that the money in the joint bank account, belonging to Duterte and his daughter, was not included in his annual declaration of assets and liabilities in 2014 as required by law, adding that the mayor should explain how he obtained the funds.
Trillanes said he would resign as a senator if his disclosure was wrong.
Duterte's spokesman initially denied there was such a bank account. The mayor, however, acknowledged its existence on Friday but denied he had committed any wrongdoing, although he did not explain where the money came from.
"I will admit there is money in that account," Duterte told reporters, saying it was less than the 211 million pesos that Trillanes had alleged, based on bank records obtained by the senator.
"If you say ill-gotten, I have none of that," Duterte said. "I've been mayor for 22 years. Did you see any case of corruption?"
Duterte demanded that Trillanes sign an affidavit identifying the person who gave him the bank records. The senator refused, saying he needed to protect his informant.
A rival candidate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, said he has signed a waiver authorizing anti-graft officials to look into his bank accounts and challenged Duterte to do the same. Another rival, Vice President Jejomar Binay, issued the same demand to the mayor.
It remains unclear whether the controversy over Duterte's bank account will affect his strong popularity with barely a week before the elections.
Duterte remained in the top spot in the most recent polls despite a storm of criticism after he remarked that he wished he could have been the first to rape an Australian missionary who was sexually assaulted and killed by inmates in a 1989 prison riot because she was so beautiful.
Questions over the mayor's unexplained wealth, however, go against his pledge to fight crime, which has won him wide support.
"It cuts through the very core of his campaign narrative that he'll go against all obstacles and the status quo to pursue his agenda against crime and corruption," said political analyst Julio Teehankee of De La Salle University.
Known for expletive-laden speeches, Duterte, 71, built his political name with an iron-fisted approach to fighting crime in Davao, where he has been accused by human rights groups of links to extrajudicial killings.
His bold pledge to eradicate crime, especially drug trafficking and kidnappings, in three to six months has resonated with the public, but also sparked alarm.
Duterte has said police and soldiers would only kill crime suspects if they fight back. But he has also said he will employ a rarely used presidential power to grant pardons to himself and law enforcers if they get into legal trouble while battling crime.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
