Impeach court opens VP’s P4.4-B transaction docs

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court on Monday opened the door to a P4.4-billion financial trail involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, rejecting the defense bid to block an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) witness from testifying on records submitted by banks and other covered institutions.

The P4.4 billion represents the aggregate value of transactions contained in 666 covered transaction reports (CTRs) and 55 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) involving Duterte and Carpio, AMLC Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified on Day 33 of the trial. The figure covers the transactions reported in those records and is not a separate amount in addition to the specific transactions cited in court.

Buenaventura confirmed remittances of P319.32 million from China to Cale88 Foods Corp., a company previously linked to Carpio, echoing claims made by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV in a press conference last Friday, after Trillanes was dropped as a prosecution witness.

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READ: Trillanes links P319M China funds to firm of Sara Duterte’s husband

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Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero rejected the defense claim that AMLC reports were protected by absolute confidentiality, clearing the way for Buenaventura to testify.

“The court agrees that Section 8-A [of the Anti-Money Laundering Act] must be considered. However, it does not follow that AMLC reports have thereby become absolutely immune from compulsory process,” Escudero said.

“The provision therefore regulates the manner and conditions of disclosure. It does not command absolute silence under every circumstance,” he ruled. “The AMLC is not a passive repository, and confidentiality cannot be invoked in a manner that defeats its statutory mandate.”

P193.7-M transfers

Among the transactions examined were seven interaccount transfers on March 28, 2014, involving joint accounts of Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

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The transfers, each bearing a separate reference number, totaled P193.70 million. The largest was P55.13 million, followed by P41.72 million, four P20-million transfers and P16.85 million.

Buenaventura said these were movements of funds from one account to another within the same bank and were treated separately because they had different reference numbers.

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The defense objected to the P193.70-million total, saying the AMLC documents did not contain a grand total.

Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan asked that the amount be removed, but Escudero rejected the request, noting that Buenaventura had testified that the transactions were unique.

The records also showed a P20-million life investment insurance policy purchased by Duterte from BPI AIA Life Assurance Corp. on April 1, 2014.

P41-M cash withdrawal

Buenaventura testified that Carpio withdrew P41 million from two banks in six transactions on Aug. 6, 2024—P23 million from BDO Unibank and P18 million from Philippine National Bank.

“Her husband walked out of two banks with P41 million in cash in a single day, but in her 2024 SALN, no cash was declared,” private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia said.

Earlier, Ombudsman records officer Karen Batu testified that Duterte’s joint SALNs with Carpio did not declare cash on hand or in bank from 2019 to 2025.

China remittances

AMLC records also showed P319.32 million in inward remittances from China to Cale88 Foods Corp. through 141 CTRs and three STRs.

Buenaventura confirmed STRs involving the transactions, saying “there is no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification.”

The court also allowed the presentation of foreign currency-denominated accounts despite a defense objection that such accounts were protected by the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

Buenaventura identified two transactions on a BPI account, which he said is co-owned by the Vice President and her father.AMLC records show that BPI reported a debit memo of P9.78 million or $225,581.94 on March 9, 2011, and P9.11 million or $221,322.76 over the counter cash withdrawal on April 8, 2013, from the joint account.

There are at least 40 other CTRs involving dollar accounts allegedly registered under the Vice President and her husband, according to Divinagracia.

Senator-judge Imee Marcos objected to the presentation of foreign currency accounts, arguing that these had been excluded in the impeachment trials of former President Joseph Estrada and the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Escudero, however, said Amla and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rules allow covered institutions to report foreign currency deposits through CTRs and STRs.

“Thus, the suspicious transaction reports or covered transaction reports submitted to the AMLC do not acquire the status of absolute confidentiality merely because they contain information concerning foreign currency deposit accounts,” Escudero said.Citing Republic of the Philippines v. Sandiganbayan, he said the Supreme Court had ruled that the AMLC could not invoke confidentiality provisions to prevent disclosure of information on covered and suspicious transactions.

“The court did not distinguish between peso and foreign currency-denominated transactions,” he added.

Escudero stressed that Buenaventura was being asked only to testify on records already lawfully in his possession through reports submitted by covered institutions. He also clarified that the court was not compelling any bank to disclose foreign currency deposits maintained by Duterte.

STR red flags

Buenaventura testified that banks and insurers filed STRs citing various red flags.

One 2019 STR involving Duterte cited news reports about individuals and corporations allegedly linked to the Department of Public Works and Highways flood control controversy and cited graft and corrupt practices.

A BDO Life STR dated Dec. 5, 2024, cited alleged “malversation of public funds and property” and reports about the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

A Philippine Savings Bank transaction reported on Aug. 1, 2024, was flagged for “drug trafficking and related offenses,” citing a news report on Trillanes’ complaint over the 2017 importation of P6.4 billion worth of “shabu.” Paolo Duterte and Carpio were among those named in the complaint.

Absolute secrecy claim

Vinluan invoked Section 8-A of the AMLA, arguing that the AMLC and its secretariat were required to protect information obtained in the course of their duties and that the law created no exception for impeachment proceedings.

Escudero said the provision requires safeguards but does not impose absolute secrecy. He also said Section 9(c) applies to reporting institutions rather than the AMLC.

He rejected the defense warning that Buenaventura could face criminal prosecution for testifying under Section 14(d) of the AMLA.

“Criminal liability attaches only to a prohibited disclosure,” Escudero said. “Compliance with the lawful order subject to proper safeguards does not constitute, to the mind of the court, such a breach.”

The court also allowed the prosecution to display AMLC documents on the Senate livestream despite defense objections that they were marked “strictly confidential.”

“The strict confidentiality of documents as the label appears will be rendered futile or nugatory by the flashing of this document on the screen,” Vinluan said.

Escudero allowed the documents to remain on screen, noting that Buenaventura helped prepare them.

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The ruling put the AMLC records at the center of the prosecution’s Article II case, which alleges unexplained wealth involving Duterte and her husband. —With reports from Tina G. Santos, Keith Clores, Isabelle Pechay, Gabriel Pabico Lalu, and Zacarian Sarao