Dropped as witness, Trillanes takes Duterte money claims to press

SAN JUAN CITY — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday, Oct. 2, alleged that members of the Duterte family received money from businessman Sammy Uy and that the Chinese government and China-based corporations sent funds to a company associated with lawyer Manases Carpio, the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Trillanes presented the allegations, along with documents he said supported them, at a press conference at Club Filipino. He had been expected to testify on the same material at the vice president’s impeachment trial.

The trial’s lead prosecutor, Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, told the Senate impeachment court on Thursday, Oct. 1, that the former senator would not be presented as a witness.

In a Facebook post, Trillanes confirmed that he had asked to be withdrawn as a witness.

Asked whether senator-judges had pressured the prosecution over his testimony, Trillanes replied, “No comment.”

He did, however, criticize Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the trial’s presiding officer, questioning why he was the only witness on the prosecution’s list who had not received a subpoena.

Trillanes alleged that more than PHP 319 million went to Cale88 Foods Corp., a company that drew scrutiny after it appeared as a business interest in the vice president’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

He also alleged that PHP 150 million from the Chinese government went to Tapang at Malasakit, a foundation associated with Duterte.

“Based on the information we have gathered, which can be substantiated in the impeachment court, more than PHP 319 million from the Chinese government and corporations based and operating in China went into CALE88,” Trillanes said in Filipino.

Trillanes said the alleged transactions raised concerns because they involved entities associated with the family of a sitting vice president.

The presentation also revisited Trillanes’ allegations that members of the Duterte family received payments linked to Uy between 2011 and 2013. Trillanes has described Uy as a drug lord.

Trillanes first raised the allegation before the House justice committee in April.

The vice president was Davao City mayor at the time, with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, as vice mayor.

Trillanes cited records he said showed a series of manager’s checks issued in the names of Rodrigo and Sara Duterte; Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte; Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte; the former president’s partner, Honeylet Avanceña; and their daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.

Among the amounts he cited were PHP 38.8 million in transactions involving Paolo Duterte, PHP 51.5 million involving Sebastian Duterte, PHP 15.6 million involving Rodrigo Duterte, and PHP 53,276,860 in checks he said were issued for Avanceña and Kitty Duterte.

He also cited transactions involving Sara Duterte, including a manager’s check for PHP 7 million and another payment of PHP 7.4 million.

“Every member of the Duterte family received money from illegal drugs,” Trillanes alleged.

The impeachment court has made no finding linking any of the payments to illegal drugs.

Trillanes also questioned Cale88’s reported financial activity, citing figures he said came from the company’s financial statements and official records.

He said the company had declared paid-up capital of PHP 125,000 and reported no sales in 2021, PHP 20,000 in 2022, PHP 23 million in 2023, and PHP 150 million in 2024.

He said the company’s financial statements showed sales of PHP 208.493 million, while he alleged that more than PHP 300 million had entered the company.

He also questioned the company’s reported operations as a banana-chip exporter, saying it declared PHP 150 million in sales in 2024 but paid only PHP 10,000 in taxes that year.

He added that the company reported no employees in 2024.

During the impeachment proceedings, the prosecution said summaries prepared by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) included covered and suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte, Carpio, and 15 juridical persons.

The prosecution’s case under Article II rests largely on AMLC reports covering PHP 6.77 billion in transactions involving the vice president and Carpio.

One summary covered inward remittances to Cale88 from China and other countries.

The existence of such a summary does not, by itself, establish the amounts or confirm Trillanes’ allegations about the source of the funds.

Trillanes said the materials he presented were based on official documents and could be submitted to the prosecution for verification through witnesses from government agencies and financial institutions.

AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura is scheduled to testify on Monday, Oct. 5, after the court granted the defense’s request for more time to prepare. Representatives of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, banks, and insurance companies are expected to follow.

Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol said a verdict could come by Dec. 16 if the defense uses all 30 trial days allotted to it.

The financial records are relevant to Article II of the articles of impeachment, which alleges that Duterte accumulated unexplained wealth and failed to fully disclose her assets and business interests in her SALNs.

Duterte has previously denied allegations of unexplained wealth.

‘WE WERE SURPRISED’

Meanwhile, a member of the House prosecution panel said some prosecutors had been surprised by Trillanes’ withdrawal.

Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua told ABS-CBN News Channel that he and some colleagues had wanted to hear the former senator’s testimony.

Chua said he was not involved in the discussions between Trillanes and Luistro before the decision was announced.

“We were surprised when this happened because we were not aware of the talks between [Luistro] and [Trillanes],” Chua said in an interview.

“Some of us, including me, said, why do we have to forgo the presentation of Sen. Trillanes, considering that we have already announced it,” he added.

Chua said he had continued to believe Trillanes would be presented as a witness until Luistro announced the decision to drop him.

The Manila lawmaker said Escudero’s earlier comments during the trial may have contributed to the decision, but he did not understand them as a directive to exclude Trillanes entirely.

He recalled that the court had advised the prosecution to present bank records or an AMLC witness before Trillanes.

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the court declined to subpoena Trillanes on that basis, though it said the prosecution could still call him voluntarily.

Asked whether the prosecution panel had been pressured into dropping Trillanes, Chua said he could not verify reports of disagreements or infighting involving senators.

He said the prosecution’s public and private lawyers work in separate groups according to the articles of impeachment they handle.

He added that certain legal strategies and discussions remain confidential to prevent information from leaking before evidence is presented.