Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — After Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV revealed on Monday (June 29) that two of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s closest aides had already fled the scene, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) hit back, tagging Trillanes’ statements as “totally false and malicious.”
According to Trillanes, the Binay aides — finance officer Gerardo Limlingan and personal secretary Eduviges “Ebeng” Baloloy — transferred funds or closed their bank accounts late last year before going abroad.
Related: Binay’s aides closed bank accounts before going abroad – Trillanes
But Rico Quicho, vice presidential spokesperson for political concerns, denied the senator’s claims and clarified that according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Limlingan and Baloloy are both in the country.
Quicho also accused Trillanes of bullying and threatening those he could not get along with.
“Clearly, this is another conspiracy theory of the senator, which is geared to disinform and divert the public attention to the failures of the administration,” Quicho said. “He has declared his candidacy as vice president and he should stop using his office to bully and threaten people who do not share his kind of politics.”
But Trillanes on Monday told CNN Philippines that his information came from a reliable source. He added that he would continue to get information from this unnamed “insider.”
Bureau of Immigration speaks up
The BI, meanwhile, released on the same day a report confirming that Baloloy has remained in Philippines since 2014.
But Limlingan’s travel records are unclear, said BI spokesperson Elaine Tan.
According to Tan, the bureau currently has four individuals registered under the name Gerardo Limlingan.
“Of the four, those born in 1970 and 2012 are out of the country. Both left the country on 27 June 2015, with no record of subsequent arrival,” BI said.
Based on the BI’s data, the other “Gerardo Limlingans” are both in the country.
