MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has launched a scathing counter-attack against former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, dismissing his recent allegations regarding her supposed multi-billion peso bank transactions as “baseless lies” and “pure fiction.”
In a strongly worded video statement released on Monday, the Vice President challenged the credibility of the documents presented by Trillanes, which allegedly show large sums of money flowing through accounts belonging to her and her husband, Manases Carpio.
Trillanes recently filed a plunder and graft complaint before the Department of Justice, claiming that the Duterte family’s bank accounts saw over P2 billion in transactions between 2011 and 2018. He cited data purportedly sourced from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and observations from the Commission on Audit (COA).
“Everything that Trillanes said is untrue,” Duterte said in Filipino. “He is using the names of the COA and AMLC to lend a ‘veneer of truth’ to his fabrications. These agencies have already clarified in the past that they do not release such information to individuals for political harassment.”
The Vice President emphasized that her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) has always been a matter of public record and that she has never hidden any wealth.
Duterte dismissed the timing of the allegations as a “recycled script” intended to distract the public from the current administration’s challenges and to damage her standing ahead of future elections.
“This is the same old playbook from the same old person who has made a career out of attacking my family,” she added, referring to Trillanes’ long history of conflict with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Vice President dared Trillanes to prove his claims in a proper court of law rather than through “media trials.” She noted that if such “billions” actually existed, the various investigative bodies would have flagged them years ago.
“If he has evidence, he should show it in court, not in a press conference. But we know he won’t, because the evidence doesn’t exist,” she stated.
Despite the controversy, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) maintained that it remains focused on its “Libreng Sakay” and “Medical and Burial Assistance” programs. However, the exchange marks a further intensification of the political rift between the Duterte camp and critics allied with the current and former administrations.
As of press time, the AMLC and COA have not issued new statements regarding the specific documents Trillanes claims to possess.