Prosecutor touts AMLC chief's 85.75% Bar score in impeachment trial

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Private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia on Monday highlighted the 85.75% Bar Exam score of prosecution witness Ronel Buenaventura, executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), noting that it was higher than the score of a lawyer whom she and Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense counsel Mark Vinluan know.

The remark came as Divinagracia asked Buenaventura about his qualifications to serve as AMLC executive director, one of which is being a lawyer.

Buenaventura was testifying on bank transactions under the names of Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, as part of the prosecution's effort to establish the financial records underlying its allegation that the Vice President accumulated unexplained wealth.

Divinagracia asked when Buenaventura passed the Bar Exam.

“Nakapasa naman po (I somehow passed). I placed 10th in the 2015 Bar Examinations,” Buenaventura replied.

Asked about his Bar Exam score, Buenaventura said, “85.75%.”

This prompted Divinagracia to say: “I just remembered—that’s 5.75 percentage points higher than the 80% score of a lawyer whom Atty. Vinluan and I both know. Anyway, I’ll move on, Your Honor.”

Divinagracia was apparently referencing an earlier remark made by Vinluan, who told the Senate impeachment court on July 14 that Duterte’s Bar Exam score was 80%, “which is higher than most lawyers here,”

This time, however, Vinluan questioned the relevance of Divinagracia’s comment about the Bar Exam scores and moved to have it stricken from the impeachment court’s records.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero granted the defense's motion.— MCG, GMA News

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