The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reported Vice President Sara Duterte and husband Manases Carpio were involved in “suspicious transactions” worth P4.4 billion in inflows and P1.5 billion in outflows in a matter of two decades.
AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura revealed that based on bank reports, the Duterte-Carpio couple conducted extremely large bank transactions between 2005 to 2025.
Buenaventura said peak years were in 2009 involving more than P900 million and in 2010 worth nearly P650 million.
The Council said covered transactions numbered 313 involving P500,000 and above as well as “17 suspicious transactions reports” covering transactions suspected of being involved in any illegal activity or deemed highly irregular regardless of the amount involved.
Only questions on transactions are being allowed in today’s Committee on Justice hearing while bank names, branches and accounts are disallowed in the discussions.
In the said years, Duterte’s net worth according to her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) were P18.2 million P16.2 million, respectively, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon pointed out.
Another witness, Duterte nemesis and former Senator Sonny Trillanes reported that members of the Duterte family – including the vice president, former President Rodrigo, current Representative Paolo, current Davao City Mayor Sebastian, Rodrigo’s common-law wife Honeylet and their love child Kitty – received regular “dividends” from suspected illegal drugs kingpin Samuel Uy cumulatively worth hundreds of millions of pesos.
Uy gave the amounts through managers checks that eventually were flagged by the AMLC as suspicious transactions.
Duterte is again absent.
Both Duterte sought the proceedings to be declared illegal by the Supreme Court while Carpio asked the Quezon Regional Trial Court to restrain the House panel from demanding their personal financial records.
Duterte allies Rep. Paolo Marcoleta and Rep. Jesus Suntay tried to question AMLC’s participation in the proceedings, citing bank secrecy laws, but were dismissed.
CoJ chairperson Gerville Luistro as well as Reps. Leila de Lima, Renee Co, Chel Diokno and others pointed out that impeachment proceedings are exempted in the exemptions provided in the law. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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