SUPPORTERS of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in Bacolod City have been queuing up at Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branches to deposit money into the account that Senator Antonio Trillanes IV made public in an attempt to discredit the mayor.
Trillanes, a vice presidential candidate, accused Duterte in late April of undeclared wealth amounting to P211 million contained in the BPI account, the account details of which the senator made public but without official bank documents that supported the amount alleged.
Media organizations have since verified the account to bear the name of the mayor and his daughter, Sara Duterte, who is running for mayor in Davao City.
Since then, Duterte supporters have been seen depositing money into the account of their own volition.
Photos of Duterte supporters lining up outside BPI’s Capitol Subdivision branch at the corner of 17th and Lacson streets had made rounds on social media on Monday.
Yves Akol, secretary-general and campaign manager of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Negros Island Region, said that individual contributions have ranged from P5 to several hundred pesos.
Akol said the party has received reports of similar activity in other parts of the country.
He said the recent attacks on the mayor’s credibility have caused even more people to support Duterte.
“There were feelers that some members of different political parties have also jumped ship. We are just awaiting videos and pictures showing them burning their membership cards and tarpaulins and place their support to Mayor Duterte. We believe that he is the last card here,” he said.
“We have been ruled by the same group of elite people and oligarchs since I was born. Here comes somebody from the south who is willing to stand for all and everything that we feel. People understand him because he is talking from the heart. He brings no codes in presidential debates because he speaks from the heart.”