Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon at the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Friday, 31 July, to submit a counter-affidavit on the complaint filed by Atty. Mans Carpio concerning the alleged unlawful disclosure of reports from the AMLC.
Jerod Orcullo
House prosecutors on Friday dismissed the complaint filed by the camp of lawyer Manases "Mans" Carpio over the alleged unlawful disclosure of his financial information, calling it a diversion from the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Speaking after filing their counter-affidavit before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the complaint would likely be dismissed because the Anti-Money Laundering Council had already complied with the Senate impeachment court's subpoena.
"This will get trashed. We are just counting the days on when this will be trashed because the AMLC yesterday had complied with the subpoena of the Senate impeachment court," Ridon said.
"We see this case as a last-ditch effort because the world is slowly closing in on Vice President Sara Duterte and Atty. Mans Carpio," he added.
On Thursday, AMLC officials, Bureau of Internal Revenue representatives, and the Duterte-Carpios' banks appeared before the Senate to submit documents requested by the House prosecution panel for its presentation of evidence on Article II of the impeachment complaint.
Carpio questioned the inclusion of his financial records in the proceedings, arguing that he is a private individual and that his taxpayer information should remain protected.
In a statement, he said that while he respects the authority of the Senate impeachment court, the admissibility and evidentiary value of the submitted documents must still be determined under the Constitution, existing laws, and the Senate's impeachment rules.
The records in question include AMLC findings indicating about P6.7 billion in transactions involving the Duterte-Carpio couple's bank accounts from 2006 to 2026.
Ridon said those records would be addressed during the presentation of evidence on the allegation of unexplained wealth.
"Yesterday the bank deposits were submitted. We will see the hidden wealth of the Duterte-Carpio couple. We will see that they are not the victims and have no money as we will see that they have P6.7 billion in total transactions, P4.4 billion in inflows," he said.
"Who are they to have P6.7 billion in total transactions? They are public officials and a lawyer that has a dying business," he added.
Also named in the complaint through an addendum were Manila Rep. Joel Chua, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co, all of whom participated in House committee proceedings involving the AMLC report.
Chua described the complaint as unprecedented.
"In my 29 years as a lawyer, this is the first time I've seen a case where congressmen were filed with a case for not opposing during a committee hearing," he said.
"I can say that the case that was filed against us was unusual."
Tinio, meanwhile, called the complaint "a form of harassment" and "a desperate attempt" to prevent the public from learning the truth about the couple's financial records.
"Unfortunately for the Vice President, the AMLC and bank records are already at the Senate impeachment court," he said.
The House prosecution panel has completed presenting evidence on the article involving Duterte's alleged grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. It has since begun presenting evidence on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
The Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to resume on Monday, 3 August.
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