MANILA, Philippines — A Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) official testified Wednesday that alleged drug lord Samuel “Sammy” Uy was named as the payee of a P16.85-million manager’s check dated May 30, 2016, as prosecutors examined transactions involving the joint time deposit accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
BPI Central Manila Division Head Marwin Galvez identified the check during Day 35 of the impeachment proceedings.
Under questioning from private prosecutor James Bryan Ibrahim Alih, Galvez confirmed that the manager’s check was issued for P16,852,782, with Samuel C. Uy listed as the payee.
The testimony came as prosecutors examined the Duterte family’s joint time deposit accounts at BPI’s Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City.
Galvez also testified that the accounts had an opening balance of approximately P40.65 million in 2010.
The accounts had previously been brought up by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who alleged that they received substantial deposits from individuals he identified as suspected drug personalities.
Trillanes specifically alleged that Uy deposited a total of P181 million into accounts linked to the Duterte family.
Uy, a Davao-based businessman, has been publicly linked to the Duterte family.
Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, jointly held a P40.65 million time deposit at the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), an executive testified before the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday.
BPI Senior Vice President and Central Metro Manila Division Head Marwin Galvez identified the account during his testimony after private prosecutor James Bryan Ibrahim Alih presented a time deposit certificate showing that the account was opened under the names of Sara Duterte and her father on Jan. 22, 2010, at BPI’s Julia Vargas branch.
The P40.65 million principal was rolled over or renewed 12 times, Galvez said. When it was last renewed on Feb. 11, 2011, the time deposit had grown to P41,721,035.42, including interest.
Alih asked Galvez about the balance at the time of the last renewal.
“Based on the last rollover, including interest rate, the final balance would be P41,721,035.42,” Galvez said, noting that some of the figures on the document were difficult to read.
A manager’s check for the same amount was issued on March 9, 2011, Galvez testified.
He said the manager’s check had a validity period of six months.
An October 2011 credit and debit memo showed the manager’s check as unutilized, according to the BPI records presented in court.
The defense objected to the presentation of the transaction on the grounds of relevance.
Alih said the prosecution was seeking to establish a pattern involving the P41.7 million manager’s check and a separate P55 million time deposit that was also converted into a manager’s check and was in circulation during the same period.
“The manager’s check that is being rolled over does not appear in the year-end balance because it is floating,” Alih said.
Meanwhile, Galvez also testified that Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had seven active deposit accounts and 34 closed individual accounts with BPI.
The accounts covered transactions from Jan. 1, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2025, he said.
The couple also had two credit card accounts, while one active corporate account was linked to Duterte, Carpio and 20 other companies, according to Galvez.
Galvez also presented year-end balances for several accounts held under the names of Sara Duterte, Carpio and the former president.
According to his testimony, the accounts showed little movement from 2022 to 2025.
The disclosures were made during Alih’s direct examination of Galvez as the prosecution presented banking records involving the vice president and members of her family.
