It’s still in the billions, which you have not denied.
HOUSE Committee on Public Accounts Chair Terry L. Ridon made this declaration Monday in reaction to a statement made by Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, that a correction made by Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) was not included in the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report submitted to the House Committee on Justice.
The bank supposedly clarified that a certain P2-billion transaction was actually only P2 million.
Ridon said this was included in the AMLC report.
“Bakit hindi namin sinama? Eh nakalagay nga sa report ‘yon. The report is there for everyone to see. But again, ang sabi pa rin ho ng AMLC in their summary list, it is still P6.7billion,” Ridon said in an ambush interview.
“And even assuming it became P2 million from P2 billion, it is still in the billions. It doesn’t change the fact that the total transactions are still in the billions. It doesn’t change the fact that the inflows are still in the billions,” he said.
“And ultimately who are these personalities? Public servant? Lawyers? Losing businesses? Paano ipapaliwanag ang P6.7 billion in total transactions, P4.4 billion in net inflows? Hindi ho ganyan yung profile ng mag-asawang mga abogado,” he added.
The AMLC report showed that banks had flagged a total of P6.77 billion in “covered and suspicious” transactions of the Vice President and her husband over a 20-year period.
Of that amount, there were P4.4 billion in inflows and P1.55 billion in inflows, leading Ridon to conclude that the bank accounts had a balance of P2.8 billion.
This was not reflected in the Vice President’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), Ridon said.
In fact, he said the SALNs filed for six years, 2019 to 2024, had blank spaces for “cash on hand or in bank.”
Ridon said the Vice President and her husband have not denied the billions that their bank accounts held.
