Who is Sammy Uy?

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday alleged that Vice President Sara Duterte and members of her family received millions of pesos from alleged drug lord Samuel “Sammy” Uy.

Who is he, and how is he linked to the Duterte family?

Uy is a Davao-based businessman and was among the major campaign donors of former president Rodrigo Duterte during the 2016 national elections.

Records of Duterte’s Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) showed that four Davao-based businessmen contributed a total of P165 million, accounting for more than half of the campaign’s reported cash donations.

Topping the list was Antonio Floirendo Jr., who donated P75 million.

Samuel Uy of Davao Farms and Davao Import Distributors Inc., Dennis Uy—founder of Phoenix Petroleum—and Lorenzo Te, general manager of Honda Cars Davao, each contributed P30 million.

Based on 2016 GMA News Research data, Uy also held a 7% stake in Honda Cars General Santos.

Rodrigo Duterte, in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) filed when he was still mayor of Davao City, also declared a P1 million debt to Uy.

In 2017, Trillanes—long a critic of the Duterte family—alleged that Uy made bank deposits to accounts of Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife and children.

Documents he presented showed alleged deposits made on Oct. 25, 2011 to then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, her brothers Sebastian and Paolo, and former first lady Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña, with the following amounts:

• Sara Duterte – P7.44 million
• Sebastian Duterte – P10.32 million
• Paolo Duterte – P9.7 million
• Honeylet Avanceña – P10.65 million

Trillanes said similar deposits were made on other dates up to 2013.

Sara Duterte, then mayor of Davao City, admitted knowing Uy but questioned the allegations.

She said she was willing to return the money if Trillanes could prove its existence and illegality, and challenged him to present evidence that her father received millions from Uy while serving as vice mayor.

Trillanes has continued to raise these allegations, including during House Committee on Justice impeachment deliberations in 2026 on whether there is probable cause to impeach the Vice President.

He alleged that of the P181 million linked to Uy, members of the Duterte family received the following amounts:

• Sara Duterte – P22.3 million
• Rodrigo Duterte – P15.65 million
• Sebastian Duterte – P51.5 million
• Paolo Duterte – P38.3 million

He also said P42.62 million went to the joint account of Honeylet Avanceña and Veronica Duterte, while another P10.65 million went to Avanceña’s account.

GMA News Online has reached out to the Office of the Vice President for comment and will update this story once a response is received.—MCG, GMA News