HOUSE Committee on Justice chair Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro of Batangas on Saturday said mounting a defense for Vice President Sara Z. Duterte in a possible Senate trial would be “very difficult” in light of the overwhelming evidence presented during the House impeachment hearings.
Luistro pointed in particular to the alleged discrepancies between the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
“Even if I put myself in the shoes of the defense, I would really find it very difficult how to establish my defense, having seen the evidence presented by the complainants already, most especially the AMLC report vis-a-vis the SALN,” Luistro said during the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Asked what strategy Duterte’s camp could pursue before the Senate impeachment court, Luistro said she could not even speculate on how the defense would dismantle the evidence presented so far against the Vice President.
“Mas maganda siguro sa depensa itanong ‘yan. To be very honest with you, I’m totally clueless,” she said.
The House plenary is expected to tackle the committee report and Articles of Impeachment against Duterte on Monday, May 11, after the Committee on Justice unanimously found probable cause and later unanimously approved the panel report for floor deliberations.
The report contains findings involving the alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
During the committee hearings, lawmakers examined AMLC reports showing a combined P6.77 billion in covered and suspicious transactions allegedly linked to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio.
The AMLC records showed 630 covered transactions and 33 suspicious transactions involving the couple from 2006 to 2025.
On Monday, Atty. Peter Paul Danao, speaking for the camp of Carpio, said that the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) clarified the reported “P2 billion” amount was in fact “P2 million,” supposedly caused by a “system glitch.”
Combined inflows reached about P4.42 billion, while outflows exceeded P1.55 billion. Another P791.1 million was classified as “undetermined.”
Lawmakers also reviewed Duterte’s SALNs, which reflected net worth declarations far lower than the amounts reflected in the AMLC reports.
During the hearings, Duterte’s declared net worth was presented as increasing from P7.25 million in 2007 to P88.51 million in 2024.
The committee also noted that some SALNs submitted since 2019 allegedly reflected zero cash on hand and zero cash in banks despite billions of pesos in transactions flagged by the AMLC.
The records presented before the panel appeared inconsistent and were cited as requiring full explanation before the Senate impeachment court.
Luistro stressed, however, that the House justice panel merely determined probable cause and not guilt.
She said Duterte would still have every opportunity to rebut the allegations and challenge the evidence once the case reaches the Senate.
“This trial may result to conviction, but it may also result to acquittal depending on the evidence which will be presented by the defense,” Luistro said in a separate interview.
But she warned that if Duterte’s camp again declines to present evidence before the Senate, the prosecution’s case could remain effectively unrebutted before the senator-judges.
“Pero kung hindi maglalatag ng ebidensya ang depensa, we can actually anticipate the appreciation of the senator-judges that the complainants’ evidence might be sufficient to support conviction,” she said.
“Because it will remain unrebutted kung walang maglalatag ng ebidensya from the defense,” Luistro added.
