DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The latest House impeachment hearing against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday revealed that her joint account with her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had “suspicious transactions” amounting to Php 6.77 billion in the past 20 years.
This was revealed by Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura during the House committee on justice hearing.
Committee members point out that the figures of the Duterte’s bank transactions appear inconsistent with her declaration in her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) of Php 88 million.
Lawmakers said the disparity between her declared SALN and bank-reported transactions is a key issue in the impeachment case, as legal analysts point out that this constitutes a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Law (R.A. 3019).
Suspicious transactions
The disclosure of Duterte’s bank transactions was made possible after the House justice panel issued a subpoena to the AMLC—an unusual move that allowed lawmakers to access financial intelligence data as part of the impeachment inquiry.
The impeachment complaints against Duterte cite unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential funds, and betrayal of public trust as grounds for her removal from office.
The AMLC reported that banks where Duterte have accounts submitted a total of:
- 630 covered transaction reports (CTRs) — involving cash transactions exceeding Php 500,000
- 33 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) — involving transactions flagged regardless of amount due to unusual or questionable circumstances
Of the total flagged transactions, Php 230.87 million occurred between 2019 and 2024, a period when Duterte did not declare any cash or cash deposits in her SALNs, according to records presented during the hearing.
In contrast, Duterte’s earlier SALN filings showed significantly lower figures. From 2007 to 2012 and 2016 to 2018, her declared cash and cash deposits ranged only from Php 2 million to Php 3.8 million.
Her reported net worth, based on SALNs, grew from Php 7.25 million in 2007, when she entered politics as Davao City vice mayor, to Php 88 million in 2024.
“What is puzzling is that the story doesn’t seem to add up with the numbers… the amount reported by the banks to the AMLC is significantly higher than what appears in the SALN,” House Deputy Speaker Jay-Jay Suarez of Quezon said during the hearing.
Duterte’s response
The vice president did not attend the hearing for the third straight despite the invitation from the House committee.
In a statement following the hearing issued on April 23, Duterte defended her disclosures, insisting that her SALNs were accurate and claims of the Php 6.7 billion transaction is untrue.
She also questioned the AMLC findings, saying its newly appointed officials “remain silent and refuse to clarify that there have been no findings of violations of anti-money laundering laws.”
Four of Duterte’s lawyers led by Atty. Michael Poa held a press conference on that same day, explaining that suspicious bank transactions do not constitute wrongdoing and they are ready to prepare their defense if the impeachment is raised to the Senate.
The AMLC officials clarified during the hearing that the flagged transactions consist of both covered and suspicious reports submitted by banks, which serve as indicators for further investigation and do not automatically establish wrongdoing.
Face the hearings
Members of the Makabayan bloc — ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Representative Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Representative Renee Co — urged Duterte to personally attend the impeachment hearings.
“The Vice President must show up,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement, stressing that Duterte should directly respond to the allegations before the House committee instead of relying on spokespersons and legal filings to the Supreme Court.(davaotoday.com)
