THE House prosecution noted alleged huge discrepancies in the declarations made by Vice President Sara Z. Duterte in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and the financial transaction reports received by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in relation to the accounts held by Duterte and her husband Atty Manases Carpio.
House impeachment adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers took note of the P41 million in total withdrawals made by Carpio in one day as testified by AMLC Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura.
In his testimony, Buenaventura said Carpio allegedly withdrew P15 million, P8 million, P5 million, P5 million, P3 million and P5 million, all in August 6, 2024 from bank accounts under his name.
Barbers said these withdrawals raise serious questions about where this money went when the Vice President declared no cash in bank or cash on hand in her SALN for that year.
“Saan galing ito? You did not disclose this in your SALN,” Barbers said.
Hearing the testimony provided by Buenaventura, Barbers said there are questions that the Vice President must answer regarding her wealth.
The AMLC recorded total transactions of P4.4 billion from the financial accounts held by the Duterte-Carpio couple from 2007 to 2025.
Barbers noted that these are only the transactions flagged by AMLC so the amount of their actual wealth could even be more than the P4.4 billion recorded.
In the Vice President’s SALNs, Barbers noted that her net worth gradually increased until it reached close to P99 million in 2025.
“Nakita din na may cash withdrawals and insurance sa name ni Mans Carpio. Deposits and cash transactions sa name ni VP. Itatapat natin ito sa SALN declaration niya. Para makita kung may basehan ang paglobo ng kanyang yaman from 2007 to 2025 kung saan ito ay lumobo ng halos 99-M ang paglaki,” Barbers said.
“Nakita na natin ang financial trail at ito ay hindi na haka-haka. Ito ay hindi gawa-gawang kwento. Ito ay may resibo, ito ay galing mismo sa reports ng covered institutions, ng mga bangko na nabanggit kung saan meron accounts ang mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio,” he added.
Barbers said these are all part of the allegations that the Vice President amassed unexplained wealth, to which no explanation has yet been made on the part of Duterte.
“Ito ay nagpapakita na meron talagang hindi maipaliwanag na yaman na pumasok at lumabas sa bangko sa pamamagitan ng mga transaksyon. Hindi natin masasabi sa ngayon na meron krimen na nangyari. Kailangan magkaroon ng sapat na paliwanag– ano ba itong mga transaksyon na ito?” Barbers said.
Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin of Iloilo said there is a mismatch between the financial transactions recorded by the AMLC and the SALN declarations of the Vice President, which she said is a serious offense if left unexplained.
“Hindi naman mali kung may pera ang isang tao. Hindi din mali at maganda nga kung may negosyo ang isang tao. Subalit dapat nagtutugma ito sa SALN sa dinideklara ng isang opisyal,” Garin said.
Garin said what was glaring in the testimony of Buenaventura was the transactions recorded by the AMLC with regard to Cale88 Foods Corporation, where Carpio holds a 47.5 percent stake.
Based on the report submitted by the AMLC, Garin noted that Cale88’s transactions amounted to an aggregate P1.254 billion.
Garin said the AMLC recorded 742 covered transactions reports and 15 suspicious transaction reports pertaining to Cale88.
Total inflows recorded for Cale88 was P776.64 million, outflows amounted to P154.6 million while another P323.4 million were undetermined transactions.
Garin noted that P319.3 million of the inflows to Cale88 were from China-based enterprises that she said raises even more questions.
“P319.3 million na ipinadala at pumasok sa Cale88 na may P125,000 na capitalization. Na 47.5 percent na pag-aari ni Atty. Mans. Kailangan tignan ang papasok ba ng P319 million ay para ba sa pagbayad ng banana chips? ito ba ay dagdag investment?” Garin said.
“P4.4B ang inulat ng transactions. The defense has to prove na ‘yung perang pangkabuuang ito na pumasok, lumipat, lumabas ay nanggaling sa hindi masamang source, nanggaling sa legal na negosyo o nanggaling sa legal na investment at tutugma siya sa sinumpaang salaysay ng Pangalawang Pangulo,” she added.
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