BATANGAS Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro on Wednesday pressed for a separate and full-scale investigation into the network suggested by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s allegations after the House Committee on Justice found that the transactions it tested from his annexes matched official AMLC records.
Luistro raised the call as part of her opening remarks on April 29, revisiting what she described as one of the most consequential developments from the April 22 hearing, when the panel examined the Vice President’s SALNs, the AMLC report and Trillanes’ sworn statement side by side.
She said the section of Trillanes’ claims involving alleged payouts and the names tied to them now demands far more than passing mention in a committee hearing.
“Dito sa milyon-milyong payout, may mga pangalan na nabanggit—mga pangalang hindi basta-basta makakalimutan. Names like Michael Yang and Sammy Uy,” Luistro pointed out.
“These are not ordinary names, lalo na dahil napakalaking pera ang pinag-uusapan,” Luistro added.
She said the pattern suggested by Trillanes’ statement goes beyond isolated transactions and points instead to something systematic.
“At base sa pahayag ni Senator Trillanes, merong pahiwatig na isang pattern, isang sistema,” Luistro said.
That, for Luistro, is why the committee should not treat the issue as exhausted simply because it has already heard the names.
“At dahil dito, dapat magkaroon pa ng mas malalim pa na imbestigasyon,” Luistro said.
“Kailangang tukuyin ang buong lawak ng network na ito—kung sino ang sangkot, paano gumalaw ang pera, at saan ito nagmula,” Luistro added.
She ended that section with a call for a more concentrated and formal follow-through.
“Hindi ito puwedeng balewalain. This warrants a separate, focused and full-scale investigation,” Luistro declared.
Luistro then situated that call within what she said was the larger collapse of doubt around Trillanes’ long-running accusations.
“Ang mga paratang ni dating Senator Trillanes na nakumpirma,” Luistro said.
“Sampung taon—ganyan katagal ang hinintay ni Senator Trillanes. Ganyan katagal pinagdudahan ang kanyang mga alegasyon—mga alegasyong patungkol sa mga bilyon-bilyong piso na pumasok sa mga account ng mga Duterte,” Luistro noted.
She said the hearing marked the point where those old allegations were no longer being judged as rumor alone but were being measured against official documents.
“Ngunit noong April 22, ang mga ito ay hinarap at nakumpirma,” Luistro said.
She then recounted the most dramatic tally from that process of checking the annexes against AMLC records.
“Pumili ng mga transaksyon—at lahat ng ito ay kinumpirma: 18 out of 18. Labing-walo sa labing-walo. Pero nang binilang muli—19 out of 19 pala,” Luistro said.
“Hindi ito tsamba. Hindi coincidence. Ito ay kumpirmasyon,” Luistro emphasized.
For Luistro, that changed the character of the discussion because allegations once dismissed as gossip were now standing on official ground.
“Dati—parang tsismis lang. Ngayon—may official record na,” Luistro said.
“At nang mag-match ang mga paratang ni Senator Trillanes at ang official record—lalo pang luminaw ang katotohanan,” Luistro added.
She said that when placed side by side, the SALN record, the AMLC findings and Trillanes’ narrative were no longer pointing in separate directions.
“Sa madaling salita: SALN. AMLC. At ang paliwanag ni Senator Trillanes—iisang direksyon ang tinuturo,” Luistro said.
