ABOUT two weeks ago, the House Committee on Justice conducted a hearing on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, zeroing in on her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and her alleged bank transactions validated by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
According to the AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura, there 33 suspicious transactions and 630 covered dealings worth P6.7 billion involving Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio.
About P4.4 billion flowed into the accounts, P1.5 billion were transferred out, and around P791 million could not be classified as an inflow or outflow, according to an AMLC report presented to the House committee on justice.
At the same time, it was revealed in the justice committee hearing that the vice president had not reported any cash holdings or bank deposits since 2018.
No cash on hand and no cash in bank.
The funny thing here is that in a press briefing, Duterte’s counsel — lawyer Michael Wesley Poa — defended the vice president against the AMLC disclosure saying the P6.7 billion dealings involving Duterte and her husband represent the total, not the balance. This means that if you deposit P20 and withdraw P10, the balance should be P10, not P20. Right said.
Unfortunately for Poa, we are not talking about loose change here. We are talking about billions of pesos in transactions. These are the details as per AMLC: transactions totaling to P6.7 billion, broken down into P3.7 billion linked to Duterte’s accounts and P2.9 billion to Carpio’s;
An inflow of P1.8 billion into Duterte’s accounts and P2.5 billion into Carpio’s, or P4.4 billion in total deposits;
An outflow of P1.2 billion withdrawn from Duterte’s accounts and P343.3 million from Carpio’s accounts; and, P791.1 million in transactions that could not be clearly determined based on available records.
From the inflow and outflow transactions alone, we could deduce a balance of P2.567 billion. Right Atty. Poa?
Now, there are two things that should be explained here. First, where did these transactions come from? Surely they could not have come from the two outlets of fast food chain franchises the Dutertes reportedly own.
And second, why were these not reflected in Duterte’s SALN?
Poa furthers that the vice president did not declare any cash holdings in her SALN because it was already included in the “Others” provision.
Wow! Are we dumb enough to believe that? First and foremost, the provision for “Others” is reserved for items that could not be classified according to the provisions stated in the SALN form. There are specific provisions for cash holdings in the SALN: cash on hand and cash in bank.
Another thing: does Duterte’s entry in the “Others” provision amount to billions of pesos to correspond with the AMLC figure?
Better try harder next time, Counsel.
But most important of all, and this has been aired by congressman Terry Ridon, nowhere in Poa’s statement was there any denial of the facts uncovered in the House committee hearing, specifically regarding the AMLC disclosure. Poa merely stated that the P6.7 billion was not the balance. So, is he admitting on behalf of his client that the vice president and her husband are holding billions of pesos in their bank accounts which they deliberately did not disclose in her SALN?
The House committee on justice has already concluded its hearing and will submit the draft articles of impeachment to the plenary next week. It is worth noting that the House committee did not examine the vice president and her husband’s bank accounts and their income tax returns. It is now up to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court to do that.
However, as we all know, there are a number of Duterte allies in the Senate and as I have been saying all along, even as early as last year when the first impeachment complaint against the vice president was filed, it would be difficult to get the required 16 votes to convict Duterte. And I believe the situation has not changed today.
But then, there is a new twist now. Now, more than ever, they are compelled to open the vice president and her husband’s bank account and their ITR and compare them with the AMLC and SALN revelations. Doing so, the senators would be hard-pressed to acquit Duterte.
And in case they try to block the opening of the vice president and her husband’s bank account and their ITR, or move to acquit her despite the overwhelming evidence, they should be reminded of what happened during the Second People Power Uprising in 2001, when the majority of senators blocked the opening of the second envelope which was then believed to contain damning evidence against former president Joseph Estrada.
Barely 30 minutes after the prosecution walked out of the Senate hearing, both sides of EDSA were already blocked by hundreds of thousands of people protesting.
And this could not be far-fetched now. As of this early, politicians are already warning of a repeat of 2001. Remember EDSA Dos.
