The House Committee on Justice will intensify its scrutiny of Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth in its second impeachment-related hearing on Wednesday, drawing on newly obtained tax, corporate, and financial intelligence records.
Panel chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro said in a radio interview the committee has expanded its evidence base to include the income tax returns of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, to establish probable cause.
Luistro said the panel will review the documents despite Carpio’s petition for a temporary restraining order to block the release of certain financial records, saying the committee had already secured the relevant tax filings.
Luistro justified including Carpio’s financial data in the investigation, citing the principle of conjugal property, under which spousal incomes are treated as shared.
To avoid legal issues tied to the country’s bank secrecy laws, the committee did not subpoena banks or bank officials.
“We did not subpoena the bank records, bank employees, or bank officials,” Luistro said. “What we subpoenaed were the reports of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on covered and suspicious transactions.”
By relying on AMLC financial intelligence reports, the panel aims to examine Duterte’s financial activities without directly accessing protected bank records, Luistro said.
At Wednesday’s hearing, the lawmakers will compare the AMLC data with Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), which the Office of the Ombudsman has been ordered to submit.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has likewise been directed to provide the audited financial statements and general information sheets of business entities linked to Duterte and her family.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has been subpoenaed to testify, following a motion by Rep. Leila de Lima. He is expected to present documents related to alleged Duterte-linked bank accounts and transactions.
The committee is still in the fact-finding stage to determine whether probable cause exists to elevate the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial.
The coming hearing follows the session on 14 April where self-confessed bagman Ramil Madriaga testified about moving millions of pesos for Duterte and described himself as a financial “dummy” for individuals linked to the Duterte family.