VP Duterte spokesman: AMLC testimony showed transactions, not illicit funds

The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday dismissed claims that Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) testimony had validated former senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s illicit finance allegations against her and her family.

In a statement, Duterte’s spokesperson, lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., stressed that AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura merely confirmed standard bank transaction reports—not that the funds were illegally sourced or even belonged to the Vice President.

“If anything was confirmed, it is only that Trillanes obtained his information illegally, in violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act and Bank Secrecy Laws,” Panelo said.

Panelo was responding to Monday’s impeachment trial proceedings, during which Buenaventura testified regarding inward bank transactions involving CALE88 Foods Corp., a company owned by Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

Under questioning by prosecution lawyer Mae Divinagracia, Buenaventura testified that CALE88 Foods Corp. received ₱319,326,770.41 in total remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong. The prosecution noted that the figure closely matched numbers previously cited by Trillanes in a press conference.

Trillanes, who was recently dropped from the prosecution’s witness list, had earlier accused Duterte and her family of receiving millions in remittances from China and a suspected drug lord based in Davao City. Prosecution lawyers argued that the AMLC documents presented in court substantiated parts of Trillanes’ previous disclosures.

Panelo, however, maintained that the testimony fell far short of proving any wrongdoing.

“The AMLC Executive Director merely testified on covered and suspicious transaction reports filed by banks. He did not—because he could not—confirm, and the prosecution still has to prove, that any money attributed to the Vice President was illegally sourced, hidden, or even hers to begin with,” Panelo stated.

Panelo also took aim at Trillanes’ credibility, labeling him an “anti-Duterte propagandist” who relies on hearsay, rumors, and speculation.

“Trillanes is no truth-teller,” Panelo said, adding that Senator-Judge Panfilo “Ping” Lacson had previously noted that the former senator’s claims lacked probative value. “His allegations are better suited for the parlor, not the court.”

The exchange comes as the impeachment court continues its probe into the financial transactions of the Vice President and her inner circle.

-Paraluman News