VP Duterte’s team questions presentation of bank transactions in House impeach hearing

Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team on Thursday questioned the way her bank transactions were presented before the House justice committee, claiming that the figure appeared “bloated” because it was an aggregation of transactions spanning years.

In a press briefing, lawyer Michael Poa said he was not saying the information presented was false, but expressed concern over how it was presented during the House impeachment proceedings.

“I think nakikita naman natin sa mga post na the way the AMLC numbers are presented, aggregate kasi ‘yan. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng withdrawals mo, lahat ng deposits mo pag dating sa inflow at outflow ay pinagsama-sama,” he said. 

(I think we can see in the posts that the way the AMLC numbers are presented, they are aggregated. That means all your withdrawals and all your deposits, when it comes to inflow and outflow, are combined.) 

“Simplehan ko lang, meron akong P1,000. Dineposit ko. Winidraw ko. Ang lalabas na total na transactions mo, P2,000 na. Pero actually, ang nasa bangko mo, zero na,” he said.

(Let me simplify it, I have P1,000. I deposited it. I withdrew it. Your total transactions would show as P2,000. But actually, what remains in your bank is zero.)

Poa issued the statement after the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reported that bank transactions totaling P6.7 billion – classified as covered and suspicious – were recorded under the names of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

The AMLC also confirmed that at least 18 bank transactions linked to Duterte and her family members – as cited in the affidavit of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV – matched its entries of covered and suspicious transaction reports.

Amid remarks from congressman that the transactions did not match what was stated in Duterte’s SALN, Poa said this is already a conclusion.

“Yung salitang ‘hindi nagtutugma’ is a conclusion in itself. ‘Yan yung position namin. Para sa amin, actually, wala naman pong hindi nag tutugma. Perhaps it’s just the way things were presented,” he said.

(The phrase, ‘does not match,’ is a conclusion in itself. That is our position. For us, actually, nothing does not match. Perhaps it’s just the way things were presented.)

Poa added that suspicious transactions “do not equate to any wrongdoing or unlawful activity.”

“Perhaps the bank thought or tagged it as suspicious so umakyat sa AMLC. Nagkaroon ng suspicious transaction report. Hindi naman ibig sabihin noon ay illegal na agad, or may money laundering na agad, or may krimen na kaagad,” he said.

(Perhaps the bank thought or tagged it as suspicious so it was escalated to the AMLC. There was a suspicious transaction report. That does not immediately mean it is illegal, or that there is already money laundering, or that a crime was committed.)

Meanwhile, Poa said he has yet to talk with Duterte regarding allegations that she personally knew the alleged drug personality Samuel “Sammy” Uy. 

“As to her personally knowing Samuel Uy, hindi namin napag-usapan pa. But I think it’s open, it’s public information naman na kaibigan naman talaga ni PRRD si Samuel Uy,” he said.

(As to her personally knowing Samuel Uy, we haven’t talked about it. But I think it’s open, it’s public information that Samuel Uy is a friend of former President Rodrigo Duterte.)  

READ: Trillanes alleges VP Sara, Duterte family received P181M from alleged drug lord

Non-attendance

He also maintained that her non-attendance to the House hearings is based on the position of her defense team regarding the House justice committee’s lack of jurisdiction.

“Again, her attendance or non-attendance is based on the position of the defense regarding the jurisdiction or lack thereof, in terms of the type or nature of the proceedings that are being conducted,” Poa said.

Should the case proceed to the Senate impeachment court, Poa said they are confident that they will be able to prove that the allegations are not true.

He added that the defense team is ready for any eventuality even as he does not want to preempt the decision of the House justice panel.

“Ang defense team, ready kami sa kung ano man mangyari. Like we’ve been saying last year, we have been preparing for trial na dahil kahit nag file tayo ng petition sa SC, hindi naman natin kung ano magiging desisyon noon,” he said.

(The defense team, we are ready for whatever may happen. Like we’ve been saying last year, we have been preparing for trial because even though we filed a petition with the Supreme Court, we do not know what its decision will be.)

“We are just ready for any eventuality,” he added. — JMA, GMA News