Manases Carpio
MINORITY lawmakers Rep. Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal Party-list and Akbayan Party-list Reps. Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno denounced a complaint filed against them by lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, calling it “harassment” and defending the disclosure of the vice president’s bank transaction records during impeachment proceedings as lawful.
The three lawmakers appeared before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday for the preliminary investigation into allegations they violated the Bank Secrecy Law and the Anti-Money Laundering Act after moving to subpoena Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records involving Duterte and Carpio.
The bank transactions, which the AMLC reported had reached a total of P6.77 billion since 2006, were presented during the impeachment hearings for lawmakers to determine whether there was basis for the allegations of Duterte’s unexplained wealth.
Speaking to reporters during an ambush interview, De Lima said the complaint filed against them was clearly intended to divert attention from the actual impeachment allegations against the vice president.
“Panlilihis lang talaga ito sa mga tunay na issue. Para sa amin, harassment ‘yan,” De Lima said.
She noted that aside from them, Carpio also filed a complaint against Committee on Justice Chairperson Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and even the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“These are all harassment. Alam naman nila ‘yan lalo na kami, kaming mga members of the Committee on Justice, the members of the House, wala naman po kaming nilabag na batas dito,” she said.
De Lima stressed that lawmakers acted within their authority during the impeachment proceedings, particularly in seeking AMLC documents relevant to allegations of unexplained wealth and discrepancies in the vice president’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
During the clarificatory hearings, lawmakers discovered that Duterte and her husband declared a net worth of only P88.5 million in 2024, despite billions of pesos in transactions reportedly flowing through their accounts since Duterte was first elected into public office. Their declared net worth had also increased more than elevenfold from just P7 million in 2007.
It was also discovered that the vice president failed to explicitly declare her and her husband’s cash on hand and bank deposits for the last six years.
“Wala pong katuturan itong ganitong kaso,” De Lima said, warning that they may file countercharges for damages, malicious prosecution, and even perjury should the complaint be dismissed.
Cendaña, meanwhile, described the charges as part of what he called “classic Duterte moves,” saying the vice president’s camp appeared to be retaliating against individuals who were simply performing their duties.
“Itong pahayag ng kaso sa mga complainants natin sa impeachment, ito ‘yung classic Duterte moves, yung pananakot at pangharas,” Cendaña said.
“So again, this is classic Duterte sending a chilling effect to our citizens who will rise up and call them out for their abuse of power,” he added.
Diokno said they remain confident in their legal position and warned against weaponizing the law to silence public officials and citizens seeking accountability from those facing serious allegations of malversation, bribery, and unexplained wealth, such as the vice president.
“We are fully confident of our legal position. At nananawagan din tayo sa lahat na dapat i-push natin palagi na gamitin ang batas para lang sa mga makatao at makatarungan na bagay,” Diokno said.
“Hindi pwedeng i-weaponize ang batas para patahimikin ang mga gumagawa lang ng kanilang trabaho,” he added.
The minority lawmakers also emphasized that the Senate is constitutionally obligated to proceed with the impeachment trial, especially now that the upper chamber has received the articles of impeachment.
“There should be [a trial]. Dapat lang. Kasi ‘yan mismo ang utos ng ating Saligang Batas na ‘pag natanggap ang articles of impeachment, walang choice ang Senado kundi litisin ang kaso,” Diokno said.
“When the Constitution says conduct a trial forthwith, ibig sabihin ilatag ng ebidensya, testigo at dokumento,” he added.
Cendaña likewise cautioned against any move to dismiss the impeachment case outright without trial, saying it would be another embarrassment for the Senate to immediately junk the case without hearing the evidence for a second time, despite public demand for answers.
“Nakakahiya ang Senado kung kanilang pipigilan pa ‘yung paglilitis na ito,” Cendaña said. “Mas ipapahiya pa nila ‘yung sarili nila. So to preserve the integrity of the Senate, there has to be a trial.”
The House impeached the vice president for a second time on May 11 with a landslide vote of 257 in favor, 25 against, and 9 abstentions. The articles of impeachment were then transmitted to the Senate on May 13.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday announced that the Senate will convene as an impeachment court on May 18 at 3 p.m., or at the soonest possible time.
De Lima and Diokno, who were both elected as impeachment prosecutors by the House, said they may attend the convening of the impeachment court to underscore their readiness to proceed with trial, and to affirm before the Senate that the prosecution panel is fully prepared to present its case.
