Courtesy: Office of Akbayan Rep Chel Diokno
AKBAYAN Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno on Thursday stressed that the strongest ground to impeach Vice President Sara Z. Duterte is her alleged unexplained wealth, pointing to the billions of pesos that passed through accounts linked to her and the gap between those amounts and what was declared in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
In an interview with ANC News Chanel Thursday, Diokno said, “If you go by previous impeachment cases that reached the Senate, then of course the biggest issue, and to me it’s a very valid issue, is the issue of unexplained wealth. Kasi ang hinahanap ng sambayanan ay siyempre ‘yung naglilingkod sa atin ay kailangan hindi corrupt.”
His remarks track Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which accuses VP Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust for allegedly amassing unexplained wealth disproportionate to lawful income, failing to fully and truthfully disclose assets and liabilities in her SALNs, and continuing business interests during her tenure as vice president.
Article II traced VP Duterte’s declared net worth from P7,250,497 in 2007 to P88,512,370.22 in 2024. It also said her estimated total salary income from 2007 to 2024 as vice mayor, mayor, and vice president was approximately P30 million. The article said the rise in declared net worth amounted to around P80 million, creating a disparity of about P50 million relative to lawful income.
For Diokno, the central issue is the money trail itself.
“Para sa akin, what needs to be explained is how did those billions of pesos pass through the Vice President’s accounts, whether in her individual name or in the spouse’s accounts. Paano dumaan ‘yun in her name, P2.87 billion. For both of them, P6.7 billion. That’s such a humongous amount that requires an explanation.”
On Monday, Atty. Peter Paul Danao, speaking for the camp of Atty. Manases Carpio, said that the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) clarified the reported “P2 billion” amount was in fact “P2 million,” supposedly caused by a “system glitch.”
Article II cited Anti-Money Laundering Council records showing a total of P6,771,227,712.95 in 630 covered transaction reports and 33 suspicious transaction reports involving VP Duterte and her spouse. It also said that around P4.4 billion was identified as inflow transactions and roughly P1.5 billion as outflow transactions.
Diokno said those figures are exactly why the House Committee on Justice repeatedly waited for Duterte to appear and answer.
“That’s also a reason why we were repeatedly waiting for the Vice President to come and appear in the Committee on Justice. Kasi I want to address that issue na meron daw persecution. There was no such thing. If you remember, every single hearing, the committee chair would invite and look for the Vice President precisely so that we could hear her side. But that’s her choice. Ayaw niyang humarap, no problem, we respect that. Now if the Senate convinces the trial court then that is her only opportunity to really explain these huge amounts that went through her accounts,” Diokno elaborated.
The lawmaker then laid out his standard for judging unexplained wealth, beginning with the oath attached to every SALN.
“Okay, let me clearly state the issue when it comes to unexplained wealth. We have the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth of the Vice President. She makes that declaration under oath every year after the first SALN that she filed that as of the end of the previous year, eto yung kanyang assets, eto yung kanyang liabilities, and from there she computed her net worth.”
Diokno stressed that the duty tied to the SALN is personal and unavoidable.
“It’s part of the duty of a government official to determine before they file the SALN because that’s under oath, what’s in my accounts as of that date, as of December 31 of the previous year. That duty is inescapable because when you make a SALN declaration, you are saying under oath, this is what I have. All total assets, real properties, personal properties, cash on hand, cash in bank.”
He then reduced the issue to what he described as a simple comparison.
“To me, it’s a very simple thing. You look at what was declared in the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. You look at the records of the financial institutions, what was in those accounts as of that date, and if they don’t match, then that’s already, you can already presume that there is unexplained wealth.”
Article II also alleged that despite billions of pesos deposited in bank accounts from 2007 to 2024, these deposits were not declared as cash on hand, cash in bank, or other personal assets in Duterte’s SALNs, including those for 2022, 2023, and 2024. It added that the highest amount of cash on hand or cash in bank declared in her SALNs was only around P6 million, and that no cash, whether on hand or in bank, was declared from 2019 to 2024.
Diokno said that if the defense wants to explain those discrepancies, the proper place is a trial where those claims can be tested.
“Bakit sa media nila hinaharap ang depensa at hindi sa Committee on Justice? Kung ayaw nila sa amin, then ilabas nila ‘yan sa Senate so that we also have a chance to question that and examine them on those defenses. That’s why it’s called a trial. Doon natin malalaman kung may katotohanan yung sinasabi nga nila,” Diokno stressed.
