AMLC: Cale88 received P319M from China, HK

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Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura confirmed Monday that Cale88 Foods Corporation, a company linked to Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, lawyer Mans Carpio, received P319 million from China and Hong Kong.

Buenaventura, a witness presented by the House prosecution panel, said this on Day 33 of the impeachment trial, when asked by private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia about the total amount of the remittances from China to Cale88, based on the covered transaction reports (CTR) and suspicious transaction reports (STR).

“Ang kabuuang halaga po, Your Honor, ‘yung aggregate amount…ang naka-indicate sa aming tabular summary ay P319,326,770.41 po, Your Honor. Based on our tabular summary record,” Buenaventura answered.

(The total amount, Your Honor, the aggregate amount…indicated in our tabular summary is P319,326,770.41, Your Honor. That’s based on our tabular summary record.)

Of the amount, it was indicated in the table presented that P315.93 million came from Mainland China, while P3.39 million was from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

Divinagracia then asked the AMLC official the nature of such a transaction.

“Ang title ng Table 5 is the CTRs and STRs pertaining to inward remittances to Cale88 Foods Corporation from a) China and b) other countries,” Buenaventura said.

He said that the AMLC no longer included the figures for the outflow of remittances involving Cale88 because it was not requested in the letter of the prosecution.

Divinagracia then asked the witness what basis, if any, the AMLC has to say that Duterte and Carpio deliberately concealed the true origin of the transactions.

Defense counsel Mark Vinluan objected to the line of questioning, saying it has “no basis.”

The prosecutor rephrased her question and asked Buenaventura if, based on the documents assessed by the AMLC, he could say that the transactions of the couple had the intention to conceal the source of the remittances.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero allowed the witness to answer despite the objection by the defense.

“I am unable to answer, Your Honor. I was only given the portion, and even then, it’s difficult to ascertain at this point because it’s just numbers, Your Honor… ‘Yun lang po (that’s it), unable to answer. It’s not in our records submitted,” Buenaventura said.

Divinagracia pressed the witness about what the transactions showed, if any, regarding money laundering. Vinluan objected, saying the question was “vague and has no basis.”

“Your Honor, I am unable to provide a comment or answer because I am only testifying based on the records and insofar as I was confronted with the documents submitted, there was nothing that could make me conclude that one or make an opinion on that,” Buenaventura added.

To recall, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV accused Duterte and Carpio of respectively accepting P150 million and P319 million from China through their separate companies.

The Vice President’s camp has denied Trillanes’ claims, calling them "malicious and fabricated."

The Chinese Embassy in Manila also branded the allegations that China has funneled funds to a political faction in the Philippines as a " false narrative," calling them "malicious rhetoric and actions.” —LDF, GMA News