On the 33rd day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, the prosecution presented Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura as its witness for Article II, which covers allegations of unexplained wealth.
The Senate impeachment court denied a defense motion to exclude Buenaventura, with Presiding Officer Francis Escudero ruling that Republic Act No. 1405 separately and expressly permits inquiry into bank deposits in impeachment cases.
Buenaventura, who admitted he skipped lunch because he was too nervous to eat, told the court: ‘Kinakabahan po, Your Honor,’ drawing laughter from those in the session hall.
A tabular summary presented in court showed 666 covered transaction reports and 55 suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, totaling P4.4 billion.
The AMLC official confirmed that inward financial transactions from mainland China and Hong Kong to Carpio’s CALE88 Foods Corp. amounted to P319,326,770.41, a figure close to what former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV had earlier alleged.
He also testified that joint accounts of Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, recorded P193,705,615.88 in transactions in a single day on March 28, 2014.
Senator-Judge Imee Marcos objected to the presentation of foreign currency accounts, arguing such accounts are excluded under law and precedent. Escudero overruled the objection, noting that the Corona impeachment court had allowed testimony on foreign currency deposits under a comparable framework.
At the opening of the session, Escudero reminded all parties to observe civility and professionalism, acknowledging that emotions were running high, and urged participants not to stoop to retaliation over outbursts or expressions of animosity inside or outside the courtroom.
Separately, Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo moved to have court spokesperson Reginald Tongol admonished after Tongol was quoted as suggesting the trial might conclude by December 16, which Tulfo characterized as preempting the tribunal. Tongol responded that he was grateful for the senator-judges’ guidance.