By Jose Cielito Reganit
MANILA – The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Wednesday revealed before the House of Representatives Committee on Justice that bank accounts tied to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had been repeatedly flagged for suspicious and covered transactions from 2006 to 2025 worth a total of PHP6.77 billion.
Responding to a clarificatory question by a committee member, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura confirmed that certain transactions had been flagged by the agency.
“Yes, there are suspicious transactions and covered transactions in our system, database, or record,” he told the committee.
In a summary report, Buenaventura said the AMLC identified 313 covered transactions and 17 suspicious transactions in Duterte’s accounts, and 317 covered transactions and 16 suspicious transactions in those of her husband.
The flagged transactions totaled PHP3.77 billion linked to Duterte’s accounts, and PHP2.99 billion to Carpio’s.
Buenaventura said the records showed an inflow of PHP1.83 billion into Duterte’s accounts and PHP2.59 billion into Carpio’s, for a total of PHP4.43 billion in deposits.
On the outflow side, he said, PHP1.21 billion was withdrawn from Duterte’s accounts and PHP343.32 million from Carpio’s accounts.
The AMLC also identified PHP791.1 million in transactions that could not be clearly determined based on available records.
The AMLC also noted a marked increase in the historical trend of Duterte’s bank transactions, which surged to PHP208.15 million in 2007.
The volume further intensified between 2009 and 2013, with annual totals averaging more than PHP400 million.
Specific figures included PHP704.93 million in 2009, PHP597.15 million in 2011, and PHP648.58 million in 2010.
Overall, the AMLC recorded a total of PHP3.92 billion across 417 transactions from 2005 to 2026, noting that financial activity tapered in the most recent years.
The bulk of the transactions involved credit memos amounting to PHP1.41 billion, debit memos at PHP1.03 billion, and fund transfers totaling PHP521.86 million.
This was followed by time deposit pre-terminations of PHP218.74 million and miscellaneous transactions of PHP209.29 million.
Other transactions identified included time deposit placements and payments amounting to PHP109.15 million each, withdrawals totaling PHP62.79 million, and check deposits worth PHP48.33 million.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua noted that the bank transactions were not reflected in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, meanwhile, reviewed the yearly transaction figures alongside Duterte’s declared net worth in her SALNs, noting a significant gap between the reported financial activity and her declared personal assets.
Buenaventura explained that covered transactions refer to bank deposits of more than PHP500,000 in a single day, which are automatically reported to the AMLC.
Suspicious transactions, meanwhile, are those flagged by banks due to red flags or doubts over their legitimacy, including possible links to unlawful sources, regardless of the amount.
He also cited Section 3 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, which defines suspicious transactions as those with no underlying legal or trade obligation, involving improperly identified clients, or amounts inconsistent with a client’s business or financial capacity.
Buenaventura added that suspicious transactions also cover transactions that appear structured, linked to unlawful activity or money laundering, show deviations from a client’s normal behavior or profile, or fall under any analogous circumstances indicating possible irregularity.
The AMLC furnished the Justice Committee with two sets of documents: a report on covered transactions involving Duterte and her husband, and another on suspicious transactions from 2006 to 2025, as indicated in the subpoena. It also submitted financial intelligence and investigation reports.
When asked whether the reports were produced only in compliance with the subpoena, Buenaventura said the AMLC has been continuously monitoring transactions flagged by banks.
He added that the agency merely generated its latest consolidated report, which still includes data it already had dating back to earlier years.
“Hindi po kami namimili ng personality. Ang tinitignan po namin dito ay ‘yung data at ‘yung numbers. So ang titignan namin, more than the people behind, ano ba ‘yung movement, flow, frequency ng daloy ng pera at kung meron bang kakaiba dito sa daloy nito. So hinahabol po namin yung pera, hindi yung tao sa likod ng pera (We don’t choose personalities. What we look at is the data and the numbers. We are looking more at the people behind the transactions, the movement, frequency, and flow of money, and if there is something different in the flow. We are after the money, not the person behind the money),” Buenaventura added. (PNA)
