Senator Gatchalian flags ‘unusual’ ₱2.7- billion financial transactions linked to VP Duterte

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday called attention to what he described as an “unusual” concentration of financial transactions totaling ₱2.7 billion linked to Vice President Sara Duterte between 2009 and 2013.

Gatchalian raised the red flags during the Senate impeachment trial while interpellating Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, who presented a financial intelligence report on the Vice President.

According to Gatchalian, the ₱2.7 billion in transactions recorded over that five-year window accounted for roughly 70% to 80% of the overall ₱3.3 billion registered under Duterte’s name in the AMLC’s 2007–2025 tracking period.

“Tinitingnan ko itong report ninyo, at may nakita akong pattern dito, from 2009 to 2013, ang transactions reported by VP Sara ay, for that time frame alone, was about P2.7 billion. Lumalabas parang those transactions were almost 70 to 80 percent of the total P3.3 billion (for 2007 to 2025),” Gatchalian told the prosecution witness.

Breaking down the annual figures, Gatchalian highlighted that transactions reached approximately ₱700 million in 2009, ₱600 million in 2010, and ₱500 million in 2011.

“It’s an unusual trend. Compared to the others na on average P40 million lang ang transactions, ito it’s about P2.7 billion in a span of five years,” he added.

The Senate President then pressed the AMLC chief on whether the council should investigate these figures despite the passage of time.

“In your opinion, is this something AMLC should look at despite, alam ko matagal na siya?” Gatchalian asked.

Buenaventura responded that historical data remains relevant to financial investigations, particularly when assessing sudden spikes in activity.

“Your Honor, generally, yung historical transactions, tinitingnan naman po. Part ng tinitingnan kung nagkaroon ng biglaang laki ng transaction, kasama po yun sa analysis namin in general,” Buenaventura said.

Concentration of Suspicious Transaction Reports

Gatchalian also zeroed in on 34 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) involving Duterte that banks and covered institutions filed with the AMLC.

He noted that 30 of those 34 reports—roughly 80% of her total STRs—were generated within a compressed three-year period between 2022 and 2025.

“Bakit nasa tatlong taon lang out of the entire 18-year period (2007 to 2025)? Bakit nandun ang bulto ng STRs?” the Senate chief asked.

“Yan po ang lumabas sa record namin,” Buenaventura replied.

The AMLC report indicated that the 30 STRs linked to Duterte involved transactions totaling ₱60.9 million. Additionally, the report listed 28 STRs associated with her husband, Manases Carpio, covering transactions valued at ₱373.5 million.

-Paraluman News