AMLC confirms 18 Sara Duterte-linked transactions match Trillanes affidavit

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Wednesday confirmed that at least 18 bank transactions linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her family members, as cited in the affidavit of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, match records of covered and suspicious transaction reports.

AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura told the House Committee on Justice hearing on the Vice President’s impeachment that 18 of the transactions cited in Trillanes’ affidavit and testimony correspond to entries in AMLC records, including three transactions allegedly involving supposed drug personality Samuel “Sammy” Uy.

The 18 transactions confirmed by Buenaventura were randomly selected by House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of the ML party-list.

“We confirm that for all the dates and amounts mentioned, there are similar transactions existing in the AMLC report,” Buenaventura said.

House Committee on Justice chairperson Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro placed the confirmation on record.

“So for the record, 18 out of 18 transactions randomly selected from the annexes of the Sinumpaang Salaysay of Hon. Trillanes were confirmed by the AMLC, at least to the extent that similar transactions appear in their report,” Luistro said.

She added: “So these three transactions appearing in Annex I, titled ‘Sammy Uy payouts to Sara Duterte and family,’ were all confirmed by the AMLC as having similar entries in their report.”

De Lima, however, said more transactions in the affidavit may also match AMLC records, noting that only a limited number were randomly checked due to time constraints.

“We saw the confirmation from the AMLC based on random entries from the Trillanes affidavit. There are still many transactions here, but because of lack of time, I only opted to ask for five entries from each of the three annexes, and three from another annex,” she said.

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

During the same hearing, the AMLC also confirmed that Vice President Duterte was the subject of 27 suspicious transaction reports submitted by covered institutions from August 2024 to January 2026.

These reports were linked to suspected activities involving drug trafficking, graft and corruption, and malversation of public funds and property.

The AMLC said the reports were triggered by references to the House Quad Committee hearings on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, news reports alleging involvement of the Vice President’s husband in the 2017 P6.4-billion shabu shipment, the 2025 impeachment complaint against Duterte, and alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds.

Buenaventura also said AMLC records show that the Vice President received funds in three batches amounting to P7.4 million in March 2011, October 2011, and April 2012, as cited in Trillanes’ affidavit.

However, he clarified that the AMLC cannot confirm whether the transfers came from Samuel “Sammy” Uy, as it only monitors transactions reported by covered institutions and not direct ownership of accounts.

Trillanes said he was relieved that his allegations, first raised more than a decade ago, were partly validated by the AMLC.

“It is a relief that after 10 years, it was confirmed by the AMLC. I am just sad that people did not believe me back then. I hope this gains traction and helps expose the Duterte family’s pretension that they are simple people,” Trillanes said.

“Bukod sa kurakot sila, ang pera nila galing sa ilegal na droga (Apart from being corrupt, their money comes from illegal drugs),” he added.—MCG, GMA News