The prosecution will convert the banking, tax, and anti-money laundering records ordered produced by the Senate impeachment court into a form that senator-judges and ordinary Filipinos can readily understand.
House of Representatives prosecution legal spokesperson and private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Tuesday the panel would immediately examine the documents once they are submitted to the impeachment court.
“At pagkatapos na matanggap na ng impeachment court itong mga dokumento na ito, agaran ho nating pag-aaralan at susuriin lahat ng mga ebidensiya na ito (and after the impeachment court receives the documents, we will immediately examine and analyze them),” Tolosa said in a statement.
“Para masigurado natin na pag oras na para i-presenta sila bilang ebidensiya sa ating paglilitis kaugnay ng article on unexplained wealth, mapapaliwanag natin ito sa pamamaraan na madaling maintindihan hindi lang ng impeachment court pati na rin ng ating mga kababayan (when the time comes to present the evidence related to the article on unexplained wealth, we will explain it in a manner that will be easily understood not only by the impeachment court but also by our countrymen).”
The Senate ordered the concerned banks, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to submit the specified records or make the required return by July 30.
The documents will be used in the prosecution’s presentation under Article II, which accuses Vice President Sara Duterte of accumulating unexplained wealth and failing to fully disclose her assets.
The panel is expected to compare Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) with her reported income, bank transactions, and financial interests over the period covered by the court’s ruling.
Tolosa also clarified that the records would come directly from their institutional custodians rather than from Duterte or her defense team.
Meanwhile, Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila De Lima said the prosecution plans to call a witness who will reconcile the SALNs, income tax returns, bank records, corporate interests, and AMLC material once the subpoenaed documents are produced.
De Lima declined to identify the witness before the presentation but said the panel would connect and explain the various sets of financial evidence.
“Well, there is, of course, there will be a witness who will do that, yung itutugma-tugma lahat, explain lahat (someone who will connect everything, explain everything),” she said in a televised interview.
She said the evidence must answer the broader constitutional question of whether Duterte can still be entrusted with public office.
“Para maintindihan nila kung bakit sinasabi namin na ito ay (So that the public may understand why we are saying that there is) betrayal of public trust,” she said.
The prosecution maintains that impeachment is not purely a judicial proceeding because it evaluates accountability and fitness for office rather than criminal guilt alone.
“So, everything that we try to disclose, everything that we try to present to the senator-judges, we are making sure that these are readily understandable even by laymen,” she added.
Alleged Suspicious Financial Transactions
Meanwhile, the Senate impeachment court’s ruling has renewed attention on allegations raised by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV regarding allegedly suspicious financial transactions involving members of the Duterte family and Chinese businessman Samuel Uy in 2017.
House prosecution panel adviser and spokesman Robert Ace Barbers said the ruling authorizes the legal process for obtaining financial records and should not be construed as a finding of wrongdoing.
“Any documents obtained will remain subject to evidentiary rules and judicial scrutiny before they may be considered by the court,” Barbers said in a separate statement.
He emphasized that allegations involving Uy and the Duterte family remain disputed.
The Duterte camp has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and no final judicial determination has established criminal liability against the individuals named in connection with those claims.
Trillanes previously alleged that Uy issued bank manager’s checks to former president Rodrigo Duterte and members of his family in 2017.
During earlier hearings before the House Committee on Justice, the AMLC did not publicly release the underlying bank statements or complete account records. Instead, AMLC officials reportedly confirmed the existence of transaction reports filed by banks under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and verified certain categories of information.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that banks submitted 630 Covered Transaction Reports (CTRs) and 33 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) involving accounts linked to Vice President Duterte and her husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio, covering transactions totaling about PHP6.77 billion from 2006 to 2025.
The AMLC also reportedly confirmed that banks had filed reports involving accounts linked to Duterte and Carpio and corroborated the existence of certain transactions previously cited by Trillanes.
However, it did not publicly disclose complete bank records, including the dates and amounts of all alleged transactions, account numbers, copies of manager’s checks or deposit slips, or full bank statements.
The AMLC, likewise, did not testify that Vice President Duterte or Carpio committed money laundering or any other crime.
“The financial records sought through the impeachment process could help establish facts that the prosecution considers material to the case,” Barbers said.
The Senate impeachment court, likewise, stressed that the subpoena for financial records is a procedural step to obtain evidence and should not be interpreted as a determination of liability or guilt.
Vice President Duterte has denied wrongdoing and described the impeachment proceedings as politically motivated.
The defense panel has yet to fully address the implications of the ruling but is expected to challenge any evidence it believes was improperly obtained or irrelevant to the proceedings. (PNA)