'FLOATING MONEY': Sara, Digong accused of

'FLOATING MONEY': Sara, Digong accused of | Daily Tribune

The P96 million in manager’s checks was divided into two tranches—P41.7 million and P55 million. The P41.7 million was from a time deposit that matured and was used to purchase a manager’s check on 9 March 2011.

Another credit and debit memo showed that the same amount was used to purchase a manager’s check on 20 October 2011, or six months later.

A manager’s check is purchased at a bank, with the payment deducted from the client’s account and transferred to the bank’s settlement account.

Galvez confirmed that a manager’s check is essentially as “good as cash,” and has a six-month validity period.

When clients purchase a manager’s check, they must disclose the reason for the purchase in the application form, according to Galvez, although he noted instances where manager’s checks go unused.

As a result, the amount will be credited back or reflected to the purchaser’s account upon request.

Alih argued that these arrangements, in which funds moved from a time deposit to a manager's check, indicated a pattern intended to temporarily remove the money from the account holder’s year-end balance, thereby concealing their legitimate assets.

Defense lawyer Michael Poa and Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero questioned the transaction's relevance, given that it was back in 2011, long before the younger Duterte became vice president.

Alih explained that this is to establish the pattern of concealment and that the prosecution’s intent is to trace the financial movements up to 2022, the year she assumed office.

P96M not in Sara’s SALN

“The only point is that the manager’s check [amounting to P41 million] that is being rolled over do not appear in the year-end balance because that money is floating,” Alih said partly in Filipino.

“A similar time deposit that became an MC (manager's check) in the amount of P55 million was also running the same years, simultaneously, with this P41 [million]. So it's a total of P96 million,” he added.

Senator-judge Win Gatchalian said he reviewed the VP's 2010 and 2011 Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), but neither of which reflected a declaration of P96 million.

Poa, however, said the VP has “no recollection” of or participation in these accounts, suggesting she may not have considered them assets under her control.

It was also worth noting that the BPI account in question is a “joint or” account, which means a single co-holder can sign and transact.

Galvez confirmed that the signature on the application for the manager’s check bore only the older Duterte, not the VP.

The P96 million was subsequently used to purchase four insurance plans, each worth P20 million, from Philam Life, according to Alih, citing instruction letters dated March 2014.

The remaining P16 million was paid to alleged “drug lord” Sammy Uy, a Davao-based businessman and a major campaign donor of older Duterte during his presidential campaign in the 2016 elections.

Senator-judge Bam Aquino flagged it as a “scheme” that allows account holders to deliberately avoid using it, concealing their money under the guise of manager's checks. Galvez said this practice is “not uncommon.”

Senator-judges Ping Lacson and Joel Villanueva asked whether BPI observes the same pattern of politicians moving money out of accounts before the year ends to avoid declaring it in their SALNs, but Galvez said he could not provide a definite answer on the alleged practice.

Quoting his “banker friend,” Senator-judge Tito Sotto said this practice is called “tinkling,” but Galvez said he is not familiar with whether the jargon is actually used in bank circles.

The prosecution has accused the VP of amassing unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to truthfully disclose assets in her SALNS, which they alleged an impeachable offense under the ground of "betrayal of public trust” and “culpable violation of the Constitution.”