Vice President Sara Duterte rejects renewed allegations of undeclared wealth, dismissing the long-standing claims made by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV regarding alleged multi-billion peso bank accounts.
She claimed that the allegations are now being supported by allies within the government, including a sitting president, members of the House of Representatives, officials of the Commission on Audit (COA), and newly appointed officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“From 2016 to 2026, nothing in his narrative has changed. What has changed, however, is the machinery now backing him,” Duterte said in a statement.
During Wednesday's hearing, Trillanes earlier claimed that Sara and her family received P181 million from alleged drug lord and Davao businessman Sammy Uy.
She further alleged that these institutions are being used for political purposes, including timing their actions to coincide with attacks against her.
Duterte also suggested that the series of allegations against her began after she left her Cabinet post, linking the developments to her alleged refusal to sign a national budget she said she could not defend.
The Vice President rejected the accusations as baseless, insisting she has no pending cases related to public funds and that her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) fully reflects her assets and income sources.
“Malinis ang aking service record; hindi ako kailanman nagkaroon ng kaso sa paggamit ng pondo ng bayan,” Duterte said. “Lahat ng aking ari-arian at pera ay idineklara ko sa aking SALN.”
However, the committee found that Duterte’s net worth grew from P7.25M in 2007 to P88.512 in 2024.
Under Philippine law, SALNs are required disclosures for all public officials and are intended to ensure transparency in wealth accumulation between declared assets and alleged external information.
She also countered the allegations by pointing to broader corruption issues in government, raising questions about flood control projects, rising prices of goods, poverty, peace efforts in Mindanao, foreign policy direction, and crime.
Duterte urged the public not to be misled by what she described as an impeachment-related “noise campaign,” saying the focus should remain on the welfare of ordinary Filipinos.
The statement comes amid continuing political tensions involving impeachment complaints and longstanding allegations of unexplained wealth that have been repeatedly raised in public discourse by Trillanes, who has previously accused members of the Duterte family of maintaining hidden assets — claims they have consistently denied.