AMLC witness: Sara Duterte's husband withdrew P41M in single day

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Lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, withdrew a total of P41 million from two banks in a single day, according to Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura on Monday.

During Day 33 of Duterte’s impeachment trial, Buenaventura testified that Carpio withdrew the P41 million on August 6, 2024, in six transactions.

“It was withdrawn from the account of Manases Carpio,” Buenaventura said when asked by private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia about the source account of the withdrawals.

Of the P41 million, P23 million was withdrawn from BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), while P18 million was withdrawn from Philippine National Bank (PNB).

During her offer of Buenaventura’s testimony, Divinagracia said the withdrawals were inconsistent with the couple’s 2024 joint Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), which did not declare any cash on hand or in bank.

“Her husband walked out of two banks with P41 million in cash in a single day, pero sa kanyang 2024 SALN, walang cash na idineklara,” Divinagracia said.

(This is not reflected in their joint SALN.)

Earlier, prosecution witness Atty. Karen Batu of the Office of the Ombudsman testified that the Vice President’s joint SALN filings with her husband did not declare cash on hand or in bank from 2019 to 2025.

Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan repeatedly objected to the presentation of the documents, arguing that Carpio is not an impeachable official.

Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero, however, overruled Vinluan’s objection, noting that the Vice President is married to Carpio and that they have common assets.

The prosecution is presenting evidence for Article 2 of the impeachment case against the Vice President, which alleges unexplained wealth arising from her alleged failure to truthfully disclose assets in her SALN and failure to divest from businesses as required of the President and Vice President under the Constitution.— MCG, GMA News

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