MANILA, Philippines — Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II on Monday accused Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of using “legal maneuverings” to hide the truth about his bank accounts.
“You can run Mayor Duterte but you cannot hide from the truth. You can use all the legal maneuverings to sidestep the issue but the truth will come out. The Filipino nation will not go for a liar and a thief,” Roxas said in a press briefing at the LP Balay headquarters in Quezon City.
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“Obviously Mayor Duterte, you have something to hide. What are you hiding?” he added.
Roxas noted that Duterte once challenged his rivals to sign a waiver on their bank accounts to prove their sincerity in the fight against corruption.
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“He and his running mate Sen. Alan Cayetano were the first ones to sign the waiver. That was their propaganda,” the LP standard bearer said.
“Now, they shuttered the process to prevent us from knowing the truth. They used legalities to hinder us from knowing the truth,” he added.
When asked if he thinks the Duterte bank account issue is a game-changer in the upcoming polls, Roxas said: “His insults to women, his foul language, his curse at the pope may be downplayed but corruption is a big issue to Filipinos.”
“When was the last time we had someone who kills indiscriminately while stealing from us? Isn’t it similar to martial law?” he added, referring to Duterte’s admission that he had several criminals and members of drug syndicates killed.