Sara Duterte, Rodrigo's P96-M joint deposits should appear in SALN --Gatchalian

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The joint deposits of Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, amounting to P96 million should have been reflected in the former's Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN), Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.

During the Senate impeachment trial, Bank of the Philippine Islands 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.

Public prosecutor James Bryan Ibrahim Alih said the P40-million deposit had grown to P41.72 million by the time it matured in March 2011, bringing the combined value of the accounts to P96 million.

"Binabangga ko ito sa SALN ni Vice President at kung merong time deposit na joint account na P96 million, dapat mag-reflect iyan sa SALN niya. I'm looking at the 2010 SALN, wala akong makitang P96 million, and sa 2011," Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said in his interjection.

(I’m comparing this with the Vice President’s SALN. If she had a joint time deposit account worth P96 million, it should have been reflected in her SALN. I’m looking at her 2010 SALN, and I can’t find P96 million there, nor in her 2011 SALN.)

Alih said the funds were later used to purchase manager’s checks starting in 2011, in response to Gatchalian’s questions about how the money was transferred from the joint accounts to pay for the checks.

"Dito sa 2011, wala rin akong makitang P96M, then sinabi mo kanina sa 2012 wala na. I'm trying to link iyong sinasabi niyo na bumili ng manager's check, nilagay muna sa account ng bank at nagiging unutilized yung manager's check. I'm trying to link that to the SALN and see if there is a pattern," Gatchalian said.

(Similarly, I couldn't find the P96 million in her 2011 SALN, and you said earlier it was no longer there in 2012. I’m trying to link your testimony that the funds were used to purchase manager’s checks, deposited back into the bank, and eventually became unutilized checks, with the SALNs to see if there is a pattern.)

Defense counsel Michael Poa said the "operative phrase" was "if she (Sara Duterte) was aware about the deposits.

"All these time deposits, transactions did not have the signature of the Vice President and all of them were done by former president Rodrigo Duterte, we leave it at that," Poa said.

Gatchalian replied saying, "That’s why I'm asking kung if there was a need for the vice president to appear for the signature card. As early as 2010, the vice president had a signature in the joint account; apparently she has."

Poa said it was for this reason that the defense panel was asking for the updating of the account.

"But again, I don't want to cross the line and will leave it to the appreciation of the court," he added. —LDF, GMA News