PASAY CITY, Philippines — Two checking accounts belonging to Cale88, a business entity linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, were closed in July 2026—the same month her Senate impeachment trial commenced.
Testifying before the Senate Impeachment Court, Security Bank Branch Banking Group Head Leslie Cham confirmed that CALE88 formerly held two peso checking accounts with the institution, both of which currently reflect minimal final balances.
Cham appeared as a prosecution witness under Article II of the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
The closure date was disclosed during questioning by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
“It closed on July 2026,” Cham said in response to Pangilinan.
“Oh, just recently,” Pangilinan quipped.
“Because the account was only opened on October 2025 also,” Cham nodded in response.
Cham stated that bank records only show the ending balances for the accounts.
“The ending balance is, for the account of 2013, is ₱332,530.95 and the other account is 8581 is ₱21,164.27, ending balance of December 2025,” Cham said.
According to Cham, the first account was established in August 2024, while the second was opened in 2025, before both were shut down in July 2026.
Pangilinan stressed the importance of auditing the cash flows of CALE88 during the 2024–2025 period, pointing out that Duterte was already serving as Vice President when the accounts were active.
He referenced an Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) report indicating that approximately ₱319 million in transactions connected to China passed through the business.
“When it was closed, of course, 2026., it would be interesting to get the information as to the amounts that went in and out considering that in the AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering Act) report, about ₱319-million went in and or (there were) transactions from China,” he pointed out.
“We don’t know if that was through the peso account or that was through the dollar account, of course. But that would be something that is worthy of looking into,” he stressed.
Senate President Win Gatchalian further questioned Cham regarding several Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) Security Bank had logged for CALE88, including 12 cash deposits flagged for being inconsistent with the client’s declared financial capacity.
Gatchalian observed that Cale88 failed to furnish supporting paperwork and did not respond to bank inquiries, preventing verification of the funds’ source and purpose. Cham declined to elaborate further, citing statutory protections under bank secrecy and anti-money laundering laws.
Senator Raffy Tulfo also highlighted that CALE88 received ₱40,138,766.28 in incoming funds during 2024, while total outgoing funds reached ₱40,001,101.79, indicating that money entering the account was almost immediately transferred out. Cham added that the account logged an additional ₱6,265,915.66 in incoming funds in 2025.
When asked if Security Bank ever waives Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols for high-profile clients making substantial deposits, Cham firmly denied the practice.
“We don’t do that. In fact, if there’s any ambiguity on that, we always refer it to the compliance office to make the final judgment on that. We are very strict on the KYC in the compliance,” Cham stressed.
The testimony follows earlier statements from the House prosecution panel alleging that Vice President Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, held at least 30 active accounts across eight major financial institutions between 2022 and 2025.
Prosecution lawyer Atty. James Ibrahim Ali testified on Day 34 of the trial that these accounts held cumulative ending balances exceeding ₱190 million across those years—funds that were allegedly omitted from her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).