Ridon: 91 days of VP Sara foreign travel now ‘on the table’ in wealth case

VICE President Sara Z. Duterte’s 91 days of non-official foreign travel over the past two years are now being considered for inclusion in the prosecution’s unexplained wealth case after its first expert witness identified such expenditures as potentially relevant to a public official’s wealth.

“Kaya binabanggit na po natin ngayong araw na ito on the table na po na silipin makita yung pong foreign travels na non-official,” Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon disclosed in an ambush interview at the Senate.

Ridon said the prosecution reached the point after hearing retired Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang discuss the legal standards that may be considered in examining unexplained wealth.

“So for context, meron pong 91 days ang ating pong Pangalawang Pangulo out of the country in the last two years. So I think this is around 19 foreign trips na non-official in character,” Ridon, one of the House prosecutors, stressed.

The prosecution is examining whether the cost of those trips can be reconciled with Duterte’s legitimate income and declared assets, rather than treating the frequency of foreign travel by itself as dispositive of the unexplained wealth allegation.

“And kailangan po itong pagbanggain doon po sa lehitimong kita ng ating pong Pangalawang Pangulo bilang Pangalawang Pangulo. So mga magkano po yun? Mga 4.2 million,” Ridon explained.

He said the same expenditures would also have to be assessed against Duterte’s declared net worth in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

Ridon recalled earlier estimates placing the cost of the travel at several million pesos, although the prosecution would still have to establish the actual expenses and how they were paid.

“I think yung nabanggit natin previously, mga 5 to 8 million yung pong gastos. Para sa ganyan. In general terms,” Ridon said.

He stressed that Duterte’s declared net worth cannot simply be treated as available spending money because much of it consists of property and other non-cash assets.

“Well, again, babalikan natin ano, yung salary ng Pangalawang Pangulo. For the year, 4.2 million around yung sahod po ng Pangalawang Pangulo. At pangalawa, yung kanya pong net worth, hindi naman po lahat cash yun. Hindi ba? So, karamihan po dun mga hard assets,” Ridon explained.

The prosecution’s unexplained wealth team will now determine what travel records and supporting financial documents should be presented and whether the foreign trips can be incorporated into the time allotted for Article II.