VP Sara impeachment hearings to proceed amid petitions to halt it -Luistro

The House Committee on Justice will continue hearing the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte as scheduled today, April 29, and possibly vote whether there is probable cause to impeach  her amid multiple maneuvers seeking to stop its proceedings. 

House justice panel chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro made the response after the Vice President’s husband Atty. Manases "Mans" Carpio filed a complaint against her and other members of the House Committee on Justice before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Monday. 

Carpio also included in the complaint officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

This is for alleged violation of the Bank Secrecy Law, the Data Privacy Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act as amended for the disclosure of Carpio and Duterte's bank transactions during the House justice panel impeachment hearing on April 22. 

“It depends on the justice members if they will consider this [Carpio court filing] in their determination of probable cause. But as far as our proceeding is concerned, we will just proceed with our hearing and conclude it in the determination of probable cause,” Luistro said.

During the said hearing on April 22, AMLC reported that bank transactions totaling P6.7 billion—classified as covered and suspicious—were recorded under the names of Duterte and Carpio. Of the total amount, P3.7 billion was attributed to the Vice President, while P2.998 billion was linked to Carpio. 

The P6.7 billion figure was not found on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) of the Vice President wherein there was no line item for cash on hand or in bank from 2019 to 2024.

“Why is this figure not indicated in her SALN entries? This is hard to explain. Where did such huge amount of money came out? And where did it go?,” House justice panel member and Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon said.

“Wala sa SALN 'yan (It is not reflected in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth)," House justice panel vice chair Representative Joel Chua said.

Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyer Atty. Michael Poa however on Friday explained that she has no cash on hand declared in her official SALN since 2019 because it was "lumped" under the “others” line item.

Ridon said that AMLC's disclosure of the P6.7 billion worth of bank transactions that came in and out of the couple’s bank accounts cannot be simply dismissed. 

“SALN is supposed to disclose the personal income of the spouses. And so, the ITRs can justify the P88 million [declaration of net worth by the Vice President in 2024]. It could be of help to the prosecution or the defense team, but we cannot tell now because we haven't seen the contents of that box,” Luistro said.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday blocked the House Committee on Justice from opening a box containing the income tax returns (ITRs) of Duterte and Carpio. 

BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza said the ITRs, which were covered by a subpoena issued by the House panel, may only be disclosed when the request is in aid of legislation and must be examined in an executive session, not in a public hearing attended by media.

Aside from the billions worth of money involving their bank transactions, the same AMLC report revealed that some of those were covered and suspicious.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, a covered transaction refers to a cash or equivalent monetary transaction exceeding P500,000 within one banking day.

The law also defines suspicious transactions as dealings with covered institutions—regardless of amount—where there are indicators such as:

•     lack of legal or economic basis;
•     inconsistency with a client’s financial capacity;
•     structuring to avoid reporting requirements;
•     deviation from a client’s transaction profile, or
•     links to unlawful activity.

Aside from the Carpio filing before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office, there are also three petitions seeking to stop the House impeachment proceedings lodged before the Supreme Court. —KG, GMA News