HOUSE Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability Chair Joel Chua of Manila on Sunday dismissed Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s defense through lawyer Michael Poa as another attempt to blur a problem that, in his view, has already been laid bare by records on her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) and bank transactions.
Chua, a lawyer and a member of the House Committee on Justice, said the effort to describe the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) a and” figures as “bloated” misses the real issue now confronting the Vice President.
“Kahit ano pang spin ang gawin ninyo sa mga lumabas na bilyones na transaksyon ni VP Duterte, isa lang ang malinaw: none of these were declared in her SALN. Pinaglololoko niyo pa ang taumbayan na kesyo ‘yung maliliit na transaksyon ay aabot ng bilyon through time, pero ang tanong pa rin ay bakit hindi ito deklarado sa SALN?” Chua stressed.
He said Poa, as a lawyer, should know the difference between a technical talking point and a documentary red flag that demands a direct answer.
“Bilang abogado, dapat marunong siyang kumilala ng smoking gun kapag nasa harap na niya. Ang problema, imbes na sagutin ang smoking gun, ang ginagawa nila ay pinausok pa lalo para hindi makita ng publiko kung gaano kalalim ang problema,” Chua added.
For Chua, the Vice President’s camp is again resorting to diversion and narrative fog to distract from the central contradiction raised in the hearings.
“Classic obfuscation ito. Napakadaming issue ang lumabas noong huling hearing, pati ang mga paratang ni ex-Sen. [Antonio] Trillanes, pero ang sagot lang nila ay bloated without even presenting real evidence kung bakit nasabi nilang bloated. Biglang ililihis ang usapan sa mechanics, sa presentation, sa wording, sa kahit ano, basta huwag lang sagutin ang pinaka-isyu,” Chua stated.
He said the public can understand the issue without the legal varnish because what is at stake is plain enough on its face.
“Simple lang naman ito: may lumabas na napakalalaking bank transactions, pero sa SALN mo, wala kang dineklarang cash on hand o cash in bank. Hindi nagsisinungaling ang dokumento, pero si VP Duterte, hindi sinasabi kung nagsinungaling siya o hindi sa kanyang SALN,” Chua explained.
Chua said the camp of the Vice President knows too well that the hole opened by the disclosures is already deep, which is why it keeps trying to reframe the issue as if the committee were merely misreading financial data.
“Hangga’t hindi sinasagot ng kampo ni VP with documentary evidence ang mga isyu, hangga’t press release lang ang alam nilang isagot, hangga’t hindi siya dumadalo sa pagdinig ng Justice Committee para sumagot, eh lalo lamang lumalalim ang hukay na hinuhukay nila,” he argued.
He stressed that no one is claiming that transaction volume alone is the same thing as net worth, but that this does not erase the legal and ethical duty of full and truthful disclosure in the SALN.
“Walang nagsasabi na ang gross movements ay automatic na equal sa kabuuang yaman. Ang sinasabi namin, kung may ganyang kalaking daloy ng pera, bakit zero ang dineclare mong liquid assets sa mga taon na dapat malinaw ang reporting mo bilang public official?” Chua asked.
He said that in public office, the duty is not merely to file a SALN for form’s sake, but to submit one that the public can trust because it reflects reality with candor and completeness.
“Ang pagdedeklara ng SALN ay sagrado para sa mga kawani ng gobyerno. Hindi exempted ang presidente at bise presidente diyan. Hindi ito simpleng compliance lamang sa hinihingi ng batas. And when this is violated, you violate the public trust,” Chua said.
