However unlikely it is for such an account to exist in the province, the Bohol Bankers Association is urging people behind the story of a Bohol official’s $81-million account and those who disseminated it to name the account holder and release more information rather than keeping it a blind item.

According to the group’s former president and now spokesperson Deo Butawan, the rumor is putting not only the government in a bad light, but also the province’s banking industry.

Butuwan also asked the news organizations that initially published and broadcasted the story to reveal the identity of the woman who reported the incident after she claimed to have accidentally opened a Bohol official’s bank book that stated the $81-million content of the said account.

Sources should also identify the said bank’s name and location so an investigation may be conducted to finally gauge the veracity of their claims.

However, no bank in the province is known to have such a big amount, particularly $81 million or roughly P3.6 billion, Butawan added.

He noted that a deposit of such large amount is unlikely to go unnoticed as an unexplained deposit of P250,000 would already spark an investigation for money laundering.

According to the latest data, there is a total of P28 billion spread throughout all banks across the province.

In his 20 years in the banking industry, Butawan has not heard of an individual who holds such a large amount particularly in Bohol.

If ever an account holding 81 million existed, the deposit will not go unnoticed and will immediately be known by bank officials, Butawan said.

Although the allegation is seemingly farfetched from his standpoint, Butawan still urged the story’s sources to identify themselves and name the official who reportedly owns the account.(with reports from Allen Doydora)