The legal defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte raised significant concerns Thursday regarding the presentation of financial data before the House Committee on Justice, arguing that the figures presented during impeachment proceedings appear “bloated” due to the method of aggregation.
During a press briefing, Atty. Michael Poa clarified that while the defense does not necessarily dispute the raw data provided by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), they take issue with how those numbers are being interpreted by lawmakers and the public.
“I think nakikita naman natin sa mga post na the way the AMLC numbers are presented, aggregate kasi ‘yan. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng withdrawals mo, lahat ng deposits mo pag dating sa inflow at outflow ay pinagsama-sama,” Poa explained.
To demonstrate how cumulative reporting can distort the perception of a person’s actual net worth, Poa offered a simplified mathematical breakdown:
“Simplehan ko lang, meron akong ₱1,000. Dineposit ko. Winidraw ko. Ang lalabas na total na transactions mo, ₱2,000 na. Pero actually, ang nasa bangko mo, zero na,” he said.
The clarification follows reports from the AMLC indicating that bank transactions totaling ₱6.7 billion—categorized as both “covered” and “suspicious”—were linked to the Vice President and her husband, Atty. Mans Carpio.
The council further confirmed that 18 transactions cited in an affidavit by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV matched their internal records.
Poa pushed back against allegations from lawmakers who claimed these figures showed a glaring discrepancy when compared to Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
“Yung salitang ‘hindi nagtutugma’ is a conclusion in itself. ‘Yan yung position namin. Para sa amin, actually, wala naman pong hindi nag tutugma. Perhaps it’s just the way things were presented,” Poa stated.
Regarding the “suspicious” classification of the transactions, the lawyer reminded the public that such tags are often administrative and do not serve as proof of criminal activity.
“Perhaps the bank thought or tagged it as suspicious so umakyat sa AMLC. Nagkaroon ng suspicious transaction report. Hindi naman ibig sabihin noon ay illegal na agad, or may money laundering na agad, or may krimen na kaagad,” he added.
When asked about allegations connecting the Vice President to Samuel “Sammy” Uy, a personality previously linked to drug allegations, Poa noted he had not yet discussed the matter with his client but acknowledged the familial ties to the former President.
“As to her personally knowing Samuel Uy, hindi namin napag-usapan pa. But I think it’s open, it’s public information naman na kaibigan naman talaga ni PRRD si Samuel Uy,” he said.
The interpretation of these financial records remains a focal point of the ongoing impeachment inquiry as the committee evaluates the evidence presented.