Metro Manila, Philippines – Lawmakers flagged billions in bank transactions—some of which have been declared suspicious—linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, as they noted a disparity in her declared net worth.
During the impeachment hearing of the House justice committee on Wednesday, April 22, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) flagged ₱6.77 billion in covered and suspicious transactions tied to Duterte and her spouse, Mans Carpio, from 2006 to 2025.
The AMLC defines covered transactions as transactions exceeding ₱500,000 in one day, while suspicious transactions are questionable regardless of the amount. Of the total, 630 were covered transactions under Duterte and Carpio, while 33 were suspicious.
The total amount of transactions for Duterte stands at ₱3.7 billion, and ₱2.9 billion for Carpio.
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, justice committee member, pointed out red flags in these transactions, stressing disparity with the statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) of Duterte.
The vice president’s net worth in 2024 was ₱88.5 million, far from the ₱7.25 million she declared in 2007 when she was Davao vice mayor.
House deputy speakers Janette Garin and Jayjay Suarez echoed the disparity issues, noting Duterte did not declare a cash on hand and in bank from 2019 to 2024, as shown in the records presented by the Ombudsman.
The AMLC reported at least ₱230 million in bank transactions from Duterte’s accounts from 2019 to 2024.
“Para yatang hindi nagtutugma yung kwento sa kwenta. Dahil sa SALN kanina na binabanggit po ng ating kasamahan na si Cong. Terry Ridon may mga sinabi na may cash on hand kaso lang base sa labas at pasok ng pera mas malaki po yung nai-report ng mga bangko sa AMLC kesa dun sa lumalabas sa SALN,” Suarez said.
[Translation: It seems like the narrative doesn’t match the numbers. Based on the SALN mentioned earlier by our colleague Cong. Terry Ridon, there were declarations of cash on hand. However, according to the inflows and outflows of money, the amounts reported by the banks to the Anti-Money Laundering Council are larger than what appears in the SALN.]
AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura said it is “theoretically possible” that the transactions are higher.
“Ang nirereport lang po ng bangko sa AMLC halimbawa ‘yung mahigit P500,000 or suspicious, kung hindi po mahigit P500,000 yan hindi po irereport sa AMLC so maaari po or maaari ring wala na merong transaction na mas mababa pa sa P500,000 na hindi na nairereport sa amin,” he said.
[Translation: Banks only report to the Anti-Money Laundering Council transactions that are, for example, over ₱500,000 or are considered suspicious. If it is not over ₱500,000, it is not reported to the AMLC. So it is possible that there are transactions below ₱500,000 that are no longer reported to us.]
‘Smoking gun’
Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers challenged Duterte to explain the gaps between her declared net worth and bank transactions.
Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno said these financial records may be the “smoking gun” for the committee to determine probable cause and elevate the case to the Senate for trial.
“Kailangan ipaliwanag ni VP Sara iyan. Hindi lang po sa komite, kung hindi sa taumbayan kung saan galing ang bilyong bilyong pisong ito,” he said.
[Translation: VP Sara should explain this–not only to the committee, but to the public where these billions of pesos come from]
Diokno also compared the net inflow in the accounts of Duterte and Carpio of ₱2.87 billion, comparing it with the vice president’s 2024 net worth of ₱88.5 million.
His colleague, Perci Cendaña, noted the figure is higher than department budgets for social amelioration programs.
“Iyong ₱2.871 billion na maaring naiwan sa kanila or wala na, mas malaki pa sa budget ng DOTr na fuel subsidy na ₱2.5 billion,” Cendaña said.
[Translation: The ₱2.871 billion that may have remained with them—or may no longer be there—is even larger than the Department of Transportation (DOTr) fuel subsidy budget of ₱2.5 billion.]
In a related development, the panel also postponed opening the box containing the tax records of Duterte and Carpio.
This was in light of the pronouncement of Bureau of Internal Revenue commission Charlito Mendoza that the documents should be examined in a closed-door session.
Duterte skipped the hearing for the third time.
NewsWatch Plus has reached out to her office for comment.
