Senator Antonio Trillanes answers questions from the media during a press conference at the Senate. EDWIN BACASMAS
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is pushing for a Senate inquiry into the refusal of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to cooperate with the Ombudsman鈥檚 investigation of President Duterte鈥檚 alleged unexplained wealth.
Trillanes, one of the President鈥檚 fiercest critics, reiterated his call for the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies to look into Mr. Duterte鈥檚 accounts after the Office of the Ombudsman claimed that it had terminated its own investigation due to the refusal of the AMLC to cooperate.
鈥淟et us remember that the executive director of the AMLC was appointed by Duterte and has since been proactively protecting his political master,鈥� Trillanes said in a statement on Friday, referring to AMLC Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela.
鈥�Refiling of complaint鈥�
The antigraft body, however, said the closure and termination of its field investigation was 鈥渨ithout prejudice to the refiling of a complaint with new or additional evidence.鈥�
鈥淚n the interest of transparency and accountability, I am calling on the Senate committee on banks to conduct an inquiry so we could summon the AMLC and question the legality of its refusal to comply with the Ombudsman鈥檚 request,鈥� the senator insisted.
Trillanes pointed out that the truth about such a 鈥渧ery important issue鈥� could be found in the data storage of the AMLC and the Bank of Philippine Islands, where he alleged Mr. Duterte had billions of pesos in transactions.
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Gordon鈥檚 committee
Earlier this month, the opposition senator filed a resolution directing the committee on banks, headed by Sen. Francis 鈥淐hiz鈥� Escudero, to inquire whether Mr. Duterte and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, violated the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The Senate referred the resolution to the blue ribbon committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, and to the banks committee as the secondary panel.
Escudero earlier said he expected the inquiry to 鈥渁lways be hitting a wall鈥� without the cooperation of the depositors and because of the bank secrecy law.