Philippine lawmakers examine gap in Sara Duterte’s bank statements, declared wealth

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio came under fresh pressure on Wednesday after Philippine lawmakers examining complaints that could lead to her impeachment were shown evidence of bank…

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio came under fresh pressure on Wednesday after Philippine lawmakers examining complaints that could lead to her impeachment were shown evidence of bank transactions far larger than the wealth she and her husband had publicly declared.
At a House hearing, the Philippines’ anti-money-laundering watchdog said the couple’s bank records from 2006 to 2024 showed 4.4 billion pesos (US$73.2 million) in inflows and 1.5 billion pesos in outflows, despite a declared net worth of only 88 million pesos (US$1.5 million) as of 2024.

The latter figure, cited by the Office of the Ombudsman, was contained in the couple’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), an annual filing required of public officials in the Philippines.

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The lawmakers also heard a separate allegation from former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who said members of the Duterte family had received money from Sammy Uy, whom the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) described as a “covered person”, meaning someone whose transactions had been flagged after being linked to illicit drug operations.

Presenting a case report before the committee, AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura said the records showed “suspicious transactions” involving large sums moving through accounts held by Duterte-Carpio and her husband, Mans Carpio, with 2.9 billion pesos left in the accounts after the recorded inflows and outflows.

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At the hearing, Trillanes read out an affidavit, accusing Duterte-Carpio of “betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption and other high crimes”.