Metro Manila, Philippines – The government’s dirty money watchdog said it flagged ₱4.4 billion in covered and suspicious transactions involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, in nearly two decades, in a testimony at the Senate Impeachment Court on Monday, Oct. 5.
Ronel Buenaventura, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) executive director said the records show 666 covered transaction reports and 55 suspicious transaction reports from 2007 to 2025.
A covered transaction is at least ₱500,000 in one banking day that banks and other covered institutions must report to the AMLC. A suspicious transaction report can be filed regardless of amount when a transaction raises red flags.
The disclosed amount was lower than the ₱6.7 billion earlier presented at the House justice committee hearing on the impeachment complaints. Buenaventura said a bank corrected 13 transaction reports, while the Senate subpoena covered a different period and a wider set of records.
Of the ₱4.4 billion, ₱1.63 billion represented inflows, ₱1.3 billion outflows, and ₱1.4 billion in unidentified transactions. The AMLC official said the figure does not mean Duterte and Carpio were richer by ₱4.4 billion.
Buenaventura explained that the amount represents the total value of transactions reported to the council, including when funds are moved from one account to another.
The AMLC said it also removed overlapping entries in the spouses’ records to avoid double counting.
During cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan questioned whether adding up transactions could make the total appear larger than the actual amount involved.
Buenaventura said the AMLC reports the transactions as they happened, not specific amounts. When Vinluan pressed him on whether the figures were what he called “bloated,” Buenaventura said he could not determine the actual amount of money involved. The prosecution objected, and Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero sustained the objection and told Vinluan to drop the line of questioning.
Buenaventura also testified that transactions involving 15 firms linked to Duterte and Carpio totaled around ₱5.3 billion – roughly ₱2.29 billion in inflows, ₱2.7 billion outflows, and ₱356 million unidentified.
Cale88’s ₱319M
The prosecution then focused on Cale88 Foods Corporation, where Carpio held a 47.5 percent percent interest through 2024, according to records presented during the trial.
Buenaventura testified that Cale88 received ₱319.32 million in inward remittances from China and Hong Kong, in particular, around ₱315.94 million from the mainland and around ₱3.39 million from the special administrative region.
Three Cale88 transactions were reported as suspicious because the reporting institution cited the absence of an underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification.
The amount matched the figure cited by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes in a press conference days earlier. He alleged that Cale88 received money from China. The AMLC testimony did not identify the source.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila had denied allegations that China funneled money to a political group.
Large withdrawals
The prosecution also presented large withdrawals involving Duterte and Carpio.
Carpio withdrew a total of ₱41 million in six transactions on Aug. 6, 2024, or ₱23 million from BDO Unibank and ₱18 million from the Philippine National Bank.
Private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia pointed out that Duterte and Carpio’s 2024 joint SALN declared no cash on hand or in bank at the time.
Buenaventura also testified that Duterte withdrew more than ₱10 million in cash and check encashments in December 2024, including ₱2.37 million in over-the-counter withdrawal from Land Bank of the Philippines on Dec. 5, ₱1.7 million check encashment reported by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company on Dec. 20, and ₱5.969 million from BDO on the same day.
The AMLC records also contained suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte’s accounts.
Two transactions involving premium payments to Mercantile Insurance Company, Inc. in 2019 were flagged for “graft and corrupt practices,” with the reports citing news articles about persons and companies allegedly linked to the Department of Public Works and Highways flood control controversy.
Another transaction reported by Philippine Savings Bank on Aug. 1, 2024 cited alleged links to drug trafficking and related offenses. A Dec. 5, 2024 transaction involving BDO Life was flagged over alleged malversation of public funds and property.
The reports themselves did not establish that Duterte committed those offenses. They reflected the reasons cited by the institutions for filing the suspicious transaction reports.
At the beginning of Monday’s proceedings, the defense sought to block Buenaventura from testifying, citing the confidentiality provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Escudero rejected the objection and allowed Buenaventura to testify, saying the confidentiality rules do not prevent the AMLC from complying with a lawful and specific subpoena from the impeachment court.
The court also allowed Buenaventura to read details involving foreign currency accounts after Senator-judge Imee Marcos objected to their presentation.
Four senator-judges later called out Vinluan after he cited administrative and criminal penalties under the AMLA for unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo said the defense had repeatedly raised the issue despite the court’s ruling allowing the records to be disclosed.
Senator-judge Kiko Pangilinan said raising possible criminal liability for senator-judges was “uncalled for,” while Senator-judge Tito Sotto reminded the defense of parliamentary immunity.
Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros said the media should not be threatened, even indirectly, and warned against creating a “chilling effect” on the press.
The prosecution is presenting the financial records under Article II, which concerns allegations of unexplained wealth, failure to fully and truthfully disclose assets in Duterte SALNs, and failure to divest business interests..
The lengthy testimony ended with a heated exchange between the defense and prosecution over the time given to cross-examine Buenaventura.
Defense lawyer Sheila Sison objected after Divinagracia described Vinluan’s request for more time to organize his notes as “dilatory.”
Sison said the prosecution had spent the day examining Buenaventura while the defense had only about an hour to cross-examine him. She said the defense was asking for a “fair and meaningful opportunity” to question the witness and examine the records.
Divinagracia said both sides received the AMLC summary at the same time and that the prosecution had reviewed the documents over the weekend. She also cited Vinluan’s earlier remark about “calling it a day.”
After a short recess, Escudero adjourned the proceedings past 7 p.m., about nine hours after the trial began. He cited the length of the hearing and Buenaventura having gone without lunch.
The impeachment court will resume at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, with the defense continuing its cross-examination of Buenaventura. The prosecution is expected to proceed next with financial records from subpoenaed banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions.
