THE House prosecution on Monday rejected the defense’s insinuation that Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura may have been coached ahead of his testimony in Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s impeachment trial.
“I don’t think he needs to be coached. Magaling ’yung bata,” House prosecutor Terry L. Ridon of Bicol Saro Party-list said in an ambush interview.
Buenaventura, a relatively young lawyer, earned his law degree from Bulacan State University in 2015 and placed 10th in the Bar examinations that same year. He earlier graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree in psychology.
During the hearing, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan questioned how the prosecution’s presentation slides contained specific examples that Buenaventura later cited while explaining suspicious transaction red flags.
Vinluan said it would have been difficult for whoever prepared the slides to anticipate the examples without prior correspondence with the witness, although he stressed that the defense was “not accusing anyone of anything.”
Private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia rejected the insinuation, explaining that the slides were based on AMLC issuances and reporting guidelines already provided to the prosecution.
She maintained that the examples in the presentation came from those materials and did not indicate that Buenaventura had been coached on his testimony.
Buenaventura cited as red flags large and frequent cash withdrawals inconsistent with a client’s capacity, rapid movement of funds in and out of accounts and the splitting of large transactions to avoid reporting requirements.
He is being presented by the House prosecution under Article II of the impeachment case, which accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth, failing to fully disclose assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and maintaining prohibited financial and business interests while in public office.
Buenaventura earlier confirmed that the AMLC complied with the impeachment court’s subpoena for covered transaction reports, suspicious transaction reports and other records involving Duterte, her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, and specified entities from 2007 to 2025.
The House prosecution intends to use the financial records and Buenaventura’s testimony to support its case under the unexplained wealth charge.
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