Ridon: VP’s defense for bank records is to push blame toward dad

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s strategy after being confronted with bank documents bearing her name seemed to lean on pushing the liability towards her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, commented Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon.

Ridon, in an interview after Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday, greeted Duterte—who is currently detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity—saying that his daughter is pushing the blame toward him.

The lawmaker was referring to the defense’s line of questioning during the proceedings, after the prosecution quizzed the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) representative about joint accounts belonging to the father and daughter tandem. In the cross-examination, counsel for the respondent Michael Poa asked whether the vice president signed off on the purchases of manager’s checks.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Prosecution seeks to show Dutertes hid P96M via unused manager’s checks

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

“Siguro sa pagtatapos po ng araw na ito, una ho sa lahat, magandang araw po kay dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, nilalaglag po kayo rito, the Vice President was not aware of the activities relating to your joint account, ’yon po ang binabanggit po ng depensa,” Ridon, a member of the public prosecution panel, said.

(Maybe at the end of this day, let me greet former President Rodrigo Duterte a good day; you are name-dropped and blamed here, the Vice President was supposedly not aware of the activities relating to your joint account; that is what the defense is saying.)

READ: Sara Duterte’s joint deposits with dad should be in SALN – Gatchalian

According to Ridon, it appears that Vice President Duterte’s lawyers are doing the same thing for her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, as there were questions from the defense on whether a person can ask banks to look into his or her spouse’s accounts.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Pangalawa, parang gano’n din po ’yong binabanggit kay Atty. Mans Carpio, that the vice president might not have been aware of all the investments, financial activity of Atty. Carpio. ’Yan po ‘yong mga lumabas sa paglilitis ngayon pong araw na ito,” Ridon claimed.

(Second, they seem to be mentioning the same lines about Atty. Mans Carpio, that the vice president might not have been aware of all the investments and financial activity of Atty. Carpio. Those are the things that came out of the trial today.)

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Sara Duterte not a signatory to P41-M manager’s checks – BPI docs

When asked whether the defense strategy reflects Duterte’s personality—considering that other individuals like prosecution spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that the Vice President had also placed his brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, in danger—Ridon said he would not allow such a thing to be done to his father if he were in the same situation.

“Well ako po, I would not do it to (my) father, ibig kong sabihin, if we go to jail, we go to jail together, hindi ho ba? I don’t think ’yon pong mga kababayan po natin will look at this kindly,” Ridon said.

(Well, for me, I would not do it to (my) father; what I am trying to say is if we go to jail, we go to jail together, right? I don’t think the Filipino people will look at this kindly.)

“Parang ito po ’yong actual na itsura, na nilalaglag po ng pangalawang pangulo, ng kanya pong depensa ang kanya pong mismong tatay, na naka-piit po ngayon sa the Hague. I don’t think that’s a good look, I don’t think that’s how Filipinos act,” he added.

(This seems to be the actual shape of things: the Vice President, in her defense, is shifting the blame toward her father, who is detained at The Hague. I don’t think that’s a good look; I don’t think that’s how Filipinos act.)

Alonto Adiong last Sept. 29 said that the Vice President may have placed Mayor Duterte in a precarious position if his claim is true—that he was unaware his sister had shares in a company that dealt with the local government.

The spokesperson said that the vice president’s supposed failure to inform Mayor Duterte that she had a stake in GenCorp Industries Incorporated while the company entered into contracts with the Davao City government showed her character.

READ: Adiong: If Baste Duterte’s GenCorp claims true, VP put him in danger

Duterte is being tried before the Senate Impeachment Court over four main allegations. The prosecution has finished discussing two of the Articles of Impeachment, and is now focusing on presenting evidence for Article II or her alleged unexplained wealth and failure to disclose these in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Discussions have shifted to Duterte’s bank accounts, after the prosecution’s witness, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, testified on Monday that the council indeed flagged several transactions involving Duterte and her relatives worth P4.4 billion.

At one point, Buenaventura testified that Duterte and her father had made P193 million worth of unique bank transactions in just one day—on March 28, 2014.

On Wednesday, BPI Central Metro Manila Branches Division Head Marwin Galvez confirmed that the father and daughter opened joint time deposit accounts worth P40 million and P55 million in 2010.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian believes that if the two Dutertes had indeed P96 million in joint time deposit, the amount should have been reflected in her SALN.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

According to Gatchalian, he could not find a P96 million entry when he reviewed the vice president’s 2010 SALN. /cb