VP Duterte may be impeached over unexplained wealth, solons say

Several members of the House justice committee on Thursday said they believe that there is probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on allegations of unexplained wealth and violations in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

This is after Wednesday’s House hearing, during which the Office of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) answered clarificatory questions posed by lawmakers.

The AMLC reported that there were covered and suspicious transactions in the bank accounts of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, in the years that she reported no cash in hand or in banks in her SALNs.

“For purposes of determining probable cause, or the allegation of unexplained wealth and non-disclosure in the SALN, I think the justice members can consider the AMLC report, the SALN, and the audited financial statement from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission),” said Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the House justice panel.

In an online interview, Luistro went on: “Remember that the threshold is merely probable cause. Maliit lang ‘to, justification lang (It just needs justification) just to be able to proceed to trial.”

Asked if the threshold for probable cause was reached based on the documents submitted by the Ombudsman, AMLC, and SEC, Luistro initially responded by saying she is speaking in her personal capacity and not as House justice committee chair.

“After all, I do not vote. Tingin ko baka nga nalampasan pa (I think it might even exceed) with the weight of evidence that was presented, that were presented in yesterday’s hearing."

For House justice panel member and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, there is evidence to support the ground of betrayal of public trust.

“Explosive na ‘yung ebidensya kahapon doon po sa P6.7 billion movement, transactions ng mag-asawa pong Duterte, Carpio, ‘yung P1.5 billion na pumasok doon po sa kanya pong account over the course of several years,” Ridon said in a separate online interview.

(The evidence yesterday was explosive, about the P6.7 billion movement, transactions of the Duterte-Carpio couple, the P1.5 billion that entered her account over the course of several years.)

“Lahat po ito ay mabibigat na batayan na po dahil sobrang layo po nito doon sa P88 million net worth ng atin pong Pangalawang Pangulo for 2024. So, doon pa lang po, mabigat na mabigat na batayan po para ma-establish ‘yung probable cause over unexplained wealth, over SALN violations, giving rise to a betrayal of public trust,” he said.

(All of these are grave grounds because this is far from the P88 million net worth of our Vice President for 2024. There is a very grave ground to establish probable cause over unexplained wealth, over SALN violations, giving rise to a betrayal of public trust.)

Ridon believed that probable cause on Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth was established based on the AMLC’s report to the House panel. He also called the Vice President’s non-disclosure of this wealth in her SALN as “betrayal of public trust.”

On Wednesday, the AMLC reported that there were covered and suspicious transactions in the Vice President’s accounts totaling more than P3 billion from 2005 to 2026.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team 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.

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.

Duterte also issued a statement on Thursday, maintaining that her service record is “clean” and that every cent of her money and assets came from a legitimate source and has necessary documentation.

In a social media post, Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab said the panel should scrutinize documents that cover Duterte’s term as Vice President.

If this is the case, Ungab said the transactions would amount to P63.8 million.

Luistro noted that even if the determination of probable cause is confined to documents from 2022 onwards, there would still be basis to find probable cause.

“That P63 million, kung ‘yun ‘yung nasa AMLC (if that is in the AMLC report), that needs to be disclosed, as well, in the SALN. So if the justice members think that P63 million is not unexplained wealth, then at least papatak siya doon sa (it will qualify as) non-disclosure in the SALN,” Luistro said.

“And if you cannot explain the source of the P63 million, then perhaps it can be considered as well as unexplained wealth, di ba (right)? That is apart from non-disclosure in the SALN. Ang laki noon ah (That’s a big amount), P63 million! Tapos walang explanation ng source (Then there is no explanation of the source). How do you describe that? I think that is unexplained wealth,” she added.

Luistro added that there are other members of the House justice committee who similarly believe there is probable cause to impeach the Vice President.

“The evidence presented, at least according to the justice members whom I was able to speak with, are sufficient to establish probable cause. And therefore, kung may (if there is) probable cause, it should be transmitted to the Senate for trial,” she said. — JMA, GMA News