THE P6.7 billion in alleged financial transactions linked to Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, Atty. Mans Carpio, could have funded key government programs benefiting millions of Filipinos, a House of Representatives prosecutor said on Tuesday.
House lead prosecutor on unexplained wealth and Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon of Bicol Saro highlighted the scale of the amount under scrutiny in Impeacment Article II by comparing it to potential public spending.
‘An amount this large could finance assistance for 1.6 million families, fuel subsidies for 1.3 million drivers, hospital expenses for 1.9 million patients, and college education for more than 893,000 students,’ Ridon said.
The Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court earlier granted the prosecution’s request to subpoena specific bank records and documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), finding them sufficiently definite, relevant, and material to the unexplained wealth allegations against Duterte.
‘P6.7 billion in total transactions, P4.4 billion in inflows,’ Ridon noted.
The court directed banks, the AMLC, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to submit the requested records or appropriate returns by July 30.
‘From now until July 30, the prosecution will be watching closely – not to catch fish or sharks, but a whale of evidence,’ Ridon said.
The P6.7 billion figure refers to cumulative financial transactions identified in AMLC reports over nearly two decades, not a single account balance.
‘Over almost 20 years, transactions of a scale comparable to government funds moved through the bank accounts of the Duterte-Carpio spouses,’ he added.
Article II accuses Duterte of failing to fully disclose her wealth and of accumulating assets allegedly disproportionate to her lawful income during her years in public service.
‘They are government officials, lawyers, and individuals linked to struggling businesses – yet the scale of their bank transactions rivals that of government funds,’ Ridon said.
‘That is the essence of the unexplained wealth charge against the Vice President,’ he added.
THE prosecution said it will present complex financial records in a way that ordinary Filipinos can understand as they evaluate whether Duterte betrayed public trust.
House prosecutor Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal emphasized that the presentation is not only for senator-judges but also for the public.
‘What’s important is that the public truly understands-not just the senator-judges,’ de Lima said.
She said the prosecution plans to present a witness who will consolidate and explain the Vice President’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), income tax returns, bank records, corporate interests, and AMLC documents once subpoenaed records are produced.
‘There will be a witness who will tie everything together and explain it all,’ she said, declining to identify the individual ahead of the presentation.
De Lima said the financial evidence will help determine whether the issue involves mere accounting complexities or conduct affecting Duterte’s fitness to remain in office.
‘It is important for the public to know what is happening-what evidence is being presented,’ she said.
She added that the evidence must ultimately answer whether Duterte can still be trusted with public office.
She said the evidence must answer the broader constitutional question of whether Duterte can still be entrusted with public office.
‘So the public understands why we say this is a betrayal of public trust,’ de Lima said.
The prosecution maintained that impeachment is not purely judicial in nature, as it evaluates accountability and fitness for office – not just criminal liability.
‘That is the core question: Is there a betrayal of public trust?’ she said.
‘We are making sure that everything we present is understandable even to ordinary citizens,’ she added.
Help
Subpoenaed bank, tax, and corporate records will help determine whether Duterte’s assets are consistent with her lawful income, de Lima said.
She explained that the inquiry will compare the couple’s financial activity and combined assets with Duterte’s SALNs and income tax returns.
‘We will look at the bank transactions, the financial activities involving the vice president and her husband, and their combined assets. Then we will determine whether all these were disclosed in the SALN,’ she said.
The impeachment court ordered the submission of records involving Duterte, Carpio, their accounts, and companies linked to their financial interests.
‘That’s why we are examining the income tax returns and BIR records, as well as corporate interests-to determine the true sources of income and what qualifies as lawful earnings,’ de Lima said.
However, de Lima said underlying bank records are still needed to identify specific deposits, withdrawals, inflows, and outflows.
‘We have to establish the lawful earnings and then the combined assets, the totality of the assets,’ she stressed.
The bank documents are expected to show whether the transactions cited in AMLC reports were supported by legitimate income sources.
‘This will allow us to determine whether these are supported by lawful income or are manifestly disproportionate,’ she said.
She said the final comparison will also establish whether the assets and transactions were accurately reflected in Duterte’s sworn declarations.
‘And whether these were actually reflected and declared-most likely not,’ De Lima said.