Questions, questions, questions

The exciting part is finally here.  Finances of Vice President Sara Duterte are now being scrutinized in the impeachment court. Bank transactions and bank accounts of the vice president and her husband Manases Carpio are the subject of intense examination.  Filipinos can see for themselves whether Sara Duterte amassed ill-gotten wealth or not.

Source documents in the current enquiry into the financial status and dealings of Sara Duterte and hubby are records of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and their bank accounts.  They are compared to the her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) to find out if the vice president has accumulated ill-gotten wealth as alleged by Article II of the impeachment complaint.

SALNs of the Sara Duterte from 2007 to 2025 show her net worth increased from Php 7,250,497 to Php 98,656,131.20.  This is a 1,261 percent increase of her declared net worth.  Her SALNs also declared zero cash on hand and bank deposits from 2022 to 2025.  The SALN contents are being compared to the financial transactions and bank records of the vice president and her spouse.

The inclusion of Sara Duterte’s husband in the inquiry into her financial standing and dealings is anchored on the Absolute Community of Property (ACP) regime of the Family Code.  Under this framework, the money of the Sara Duterte also belongs to her husband and vice versa since they do not have a prenuptial agreement.  Even if the money deposited in the bank is registered to one spouse, it remained common.   All assets brought into the marriage become co-owned.

Financial labyrinth spawned by Sara Duterte and husband is dizzying.  The figures are huge and the maze of transactions involved makes one get lost in the sea of financial mess.  Questions, questions, questions and more questions are raised as one is dazzled by the financial magic conjured by the wife-husband tandem.

Before putting forward the questions, the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) corrected the report it submitted to AMLC due to a system bug that inflated the flow of money in the bank accounts of Sara Duterte and husband.  From the previous Php 6.77 billion figure, the money that went in and out of their bank accounts is Php 4.4 billion.  The inflow is more or less Php 1.63 billion and the outflow is Php 1.31 billion.  Around Php 1.46 billion is unclassified or whose direction is undetermined.

The first question that Sara Duterte has to answer is the inconsistency of the money flowing in and out of her bank accounts with her total net worth which is only Php 98 million.  What are the sources the Php 4.4 billion given her relatively small net worth?

Another question that the vice president needs to answer is: Why did she lie in her SALNs?  She stated in her SALNs that she has no cash on hand or cash deposits from 2022 to 2024.  Her bank records however indicate that in 2022 she had Php 59,024,726.27 in banks.  In 2023 her bank deposit is Php 71,381,223.30, in 2024 it is Php 22,245,745.99 and in 2025 Php 39,092,037.63.  Why did she hide her money in the banks?  SALNs are sworn statements and making false declarations is a violation of law.

In another explosive discovery, BPI reported that in 2010 Sara Duterte and her father Rodrigo Duterte had a ₱40.65-million peso time deposit.  Her impeachment lawyer claimed the vice president is clueless about the joint account.  Is she really unaware of the existence of the joint account?  Did her father open the account in secret?  Why?

Filipinos are also interested to know why huge amount of money from China was pumped into Cale88, a company owned by Sara Duterte’s husband.  AMLC has flagged Php 319 million worth of remittances to Cale88 from China and Hong Kong.  Why is China sending large amount of money to the couple?  Is there an agenda behind this flow of money from China?  Are the Sara Duterte and husband running errand for China?

Senate President Win Gatchalian also pointed out an AMLC report which showed that Cale88 logged an inflow of P776 million and an outflow of P154 million, despite having a paid-up capital of only Php 125,000.  The Pharmally anomaly comes to mind.

AMLC Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura reported that checks dated October 25, 2011, and April 24, 2012, worth P14.88 million, from one “Samuel Cang Uy,” and two other persons were issued to Sara Duterte.  Sammy Uy according to former senator Antonio Trillanes is a Davao City drug lord.  The public is again interested to know the explanation of the vice president on the matter.  Why is Sammy giving her money?  What is the money for?  Are Sara Duterte and Sammy Uy business partners?

In March 2014, there was a single day bank transaction involving P193 million in the joint account of Sara Duterte and her father according to AMLC report.  Given that her net worth is only Php 98 million, how can she make this huge transaction in a day?  If the transaction belongs to her father, what is the explanation behind the deal?

The public are perplexed at the complex financial dealings of Sara Duterte and her husband.  They moved Php 4.4 billion in their bank transactions.  However, their combined SALNs over those same 18 years totalled a mere Php 840 million.  What explains this huge discrepancy?  Filipinos are waiting with baited breath the explanation of Sara Duterte in the coming weeks.  Her answers will be interesting.

It will take weeks for the impeachment court and the Filipino people to sort out the intricate financial deals and transactions of Sara Duterte and her spouse.  The vice president must adequately answer each question now swirling in the mind of Filipinos regarding the financial Gordian knot she and her husband tied.  Each question germinates more questions which is a challenging situation to Sara Duterte and her defense team.  She must prove that these financial transactions are legitimate.  If she cannot adequately respond to the questions, Sara Duterte is doomed.