HOUSE Committee on Justice Vice Chairperson Atty. Ysabel Maria “Bel” Zamora of San Juan City on Tuesday stood by the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) official records, pushing back against a claim by Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s camp that one of the alleged P2 billion transactions was only P2 million.
In a radio interview over dzBB, Zamora said the House Committee on Justice based its findings strictly on official documents submitted by the AMLC, which carry a presumption of regularity just like any other government record.
“Syempre sumusunod tayo sa ebidensya, sa mga official documents, and inilabas naman po ng AMLAC ang dokumento nila. So syempre ‘yun po ang ating pagbabasehan ng ating opinion on this matter,” Zamora, a lawyer, said.
Zamora also pointed out that the Justice committee would know of any issues or so-called “glitches” in the AMLC’s report that Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, had a total of 663 covered and suspicious transactions worth P6.77 billion flowing through their bank accounts from 2006 to 2025.
She further stressed that any contrary claim, such as Carpio’s assertion that a bank corrected a transaction figure to P2 million, must be formally presented and substantiated during a Senate trial.
“Ngayon, kung anuman ang sinasabi nila diyan, maybe it’s their duty to present it during trial kung ito po ay patungkol sa bank accounts ng ating bise presidente at ng kanyang asawa, or if these even refer to the SALN,” Zamora said, noting that the committee has not seen any formal retraction from banks reflected in the AMLC report.
Zamora added that during the hearings, lawmakers were able to cross-check entries in former Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes’ records against AMLC data, with 19 transactions matching exactly in both the date and the amount down to the centavo.
“Wala naman po kaming nakita na binabawi ng mga bangko ‘yung mga records na ‘yan. As far as we’re concerned, during the hearing, in fact si Congresswoman Leila po she was able to confirm 19 transactions that appeared in the AMLAC report. So kung mayroon man pagbabawi ng bangko, hindi po naman binanggit ng AMLAC during the hearing,” she said.
The lawyer then underscored that the Committee on Justice has already discharged its mandate, having evaluated the evidence presented and unanimously approved its committee report for the plenary’s consideration.
“Well for us, kung ano po ang naipresenta na ebidensya at the hearings of the Committee on Justice, ‘yan po ang aming source of information, ‘yan ang aming ebidensya and again, government records are presumed to be regular,” she said.
She also linked the AMLC findings to the issue of unexplained wealth, particularly the vice president’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), which showed zero cash on hand and cash in bank in her last six filings starting 2019.
“I understand bank secrecy. I understand the privacy of these individuals. Pero ‘yun nga po, we will all relate this to the issue of unexplained wealth and yung SALN nga po dahil wala nga pong nakalagay doon sa cash on hand and cash in bank ng ating bise presidente, which should also include those of her husband,” Zamora said.
Addressing claims about privacy and bank secrecy, Zamora said public officials are not exempt from scrutiny, especially when financial disclosures are required by law.
“Sa totoo lang, kapag nag-declare nga ang isang government official ng SALN, kasama nga po doon ang bank accounts ng asawa niya, gaya po ng SALN ko nakapirma doon asawa ko who is a private citizen, so hindi naman po pwedeng siguro o dapat kong sabihin na dahil private individual po si Atty. Mans Carpio ay hindi na pwedeng i-divulge ang kanyang accounts,” she explained.
Zamora also questioned why Duterte’s camp did not raise objections during the committee hearings, including on the presentation of AMLC records.
“Eh ‘di sana po nakapagtanong sila o nakapag-raise sila ng kanilang objections to the director or the presentation of the AMLAC report. Kaya nga lang po, hindi sila nagpakita sa mga hearings ng Committee on Justice,” she said.
She rejected arguments framing the impeachment as a political feud, emphasizing that the proceedings are anchored on evidence, not personalities or rival factions.
“Hindi naman po pwede sabihin na may naglalabanan na political factions o political dynasties o families na hindi na po dapat natin pansinin ang mga paratang against a particular individual,” she said.
“This is about accountability, mayroon pong impeachable offenses na kung saan nakapaglabas po ng ebidensya ang mga iba’t ibang partido, iba’t ibang government offices. So all of us have to make a stand in relation to or because of the evidence presented,” Zamora added.
Zamora also expressed hope that lawmakers would ultimately vote based on the evidence presented, which includes the Commission on Audit’s findings on the alleged misuse of confidential funds, testimonies of disbursement, the AMLC report, the official certifications showing the non-existence of some beneficiaries named in receipts, and the grave threats against the President, First Lady and former Speaker.
“So whether there are families involved here, and to tell you honestly, sa politics ng Philippines, we learned this in political science we have a weak political system and we accept that there are a lot of political families here, political dynasties, ay hindi naman po pwede hindi po tayong tumayo on the issue of accountability,” she added.
All members of the House of Representatives have around five days to review the articles of impeachment against Duterte, along with the supporting evidence attached to the complaints and presented during the hearings, ahead of the plenary vote scheduled for May 11.
