LIVE UPDATES: Vice President Sara Duterte’s Impeachment Trial (Day 34)
The executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is set to face cross examination from the defense.
3:33 p.m. – Sumatra peruses the documents.
3:26 p.m. – Sumatra says she submitted three kinds of documents to the Impeachment Court for the period covering 2017 to 2025:
- Movement of payroll
- Withdrawal slips
- Certificates of outstanding balances She says the Vice President has one account in their branch.
3:20 p.m. – Atty. Carlo Joaquin Narvasa, counsel for the respondent, says the prosecution should focus on identifying and authenticating their documents and not rush the procedure.
3:17 p.m. – Alih says they will be talking about eight banks and 14 witnesses.
3:13 p.m. – Alih says he will ask Sumatra to authenticate one account.
3:03 p.m. – Alih proceeds with his direct examination of Eunice Sumatra, Branch head of Land Bank of the Philippines San Pedro, Davao branch.
2:56 p.m. – Alih, in his Offer of Testimony, says he will prove the following total year-end balance of the accounts of Duterte and Carpio in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Photo courtesy: Senate
Photo courtesy: Senate2:53 p.m. – Atty. James Bryan Ibrahim Alih, counsel for the panel of prosecutors, will present the witnesses from various banks.
Photo courtesy: Senate2:43 p.m. – Buenaventura is excused.
2:30 p.m. – Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asks what is the factual basis to say if the source of Duterte’s and Carpio’s funds are legal or illegal.
Buenaventura submits to the court to determine this.
2:24 p.m. – Gatchalian says Duterte reported transactions from 2009 to 2013 amounting to about P2.7 billion. He asks AMLC if they have looked into this.
Buenaventura says he needs a copy of the report to be able to answer.
Gatchalian: “It’s an unusual trend kasi compared to the others na on the average 40 million lang yung transaction, ito is about 2.7 billion in transaction in the span of five years.”
Buenaventura says they also look into historical transactions to see if there is a sudden increase.
2:10 p.m. – Buenaventura confirms there are 1,197 STRs on 888 Bistro. The aggregate amount of reported transactions from 2022 to 2025 is P42.97 million.
Asked by Pangilinan why there is a huge number of STRs, Buenaventura says he needs to see the records.
1:55 p.m. – Buenaventura explains that covered persons are the ones who determine if a transaction is suspicious. He says covered persons consider news reports and account activity, in addition to other factors.
1:49 p.m. – Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo asks Buenaventura what AMLC’s action was regarding the several STRs on the accounts and corporations of the Duterte-Carpio couple.
Buenaventura says he cannot disclose this because it will constitute contempt of court.
1:43 p.m. – Buenaventura says he still feels nervous.
1:38 p.m. – Buenaventura confirms to Hontiveros that money laundering is essentially the concealment of the source of illegally obtained funds.
1:33 p.m. – Trial resumes. The court will entertain the second round of interjections of Senator-judges.
12:25 p.m. – The Senate impeachment trial court takes alunch break. Trial will resume at 1:30 p.m.
12:15 p.m. – Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan says there are many interesting things to ask the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regarding Cale88.
Cale88 was incorporated in 2021. AMLC records show that the company had transactions amounting to more than P1.25 billion from 2022 to 2025.
Carpio was supposedly a 40% stockholder of Cale88 in 2022, and this share rose to 47% in 2024. His name was no longer included in the company’s General Information Sheet (GIS) in 2025 and was allegedly replaced by Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation.
12:01 p.m. – Senator-judge and Senate President Win Gatchalian asks Buenaventura if Cale88 can be a candidate for money laundering because the books supposedly do not reflect P776 million.
Cale88, based on records, has a paid up capital of P125,000.
Buenaventura says it can be a candidate but they need to consider other factors such as the source of the transaction.
11:52 a.m. – Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson asks Buenaventura how many CTRs and STRs they receive and analyze in a month.
Buenaventura recalls that they received reports amounting to at least P120 million last year or P10 million a month.
Lacson says this is why the AMLC is stymied.
11:44 a.m. – According to the STRs on Cale88, the transactions were considered suspicious because there is “no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification.”
11:41 a.m. – Buenaventura reads the addresses of the counter parties shown in the CTR on inward remittances to Cale88. The addresses are in China.
11:36 a.m. – Divinagracia proceeds with her redirect examination.
11:11 a.m. – Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros says her office looked into the companies that transacted with Cale88 and found that there are allegedly Chinese state-owned enterprises, one of which is the China National Township Enterprises.
11:06 a.m. – Vinluan ends his cross-examination.
Senator-judges are allowed to interject while Atty. Mae Divinagracia, counsel for the panel of prosecutors, prepares for her redirect examination.
11:05 a.m. – Vinluan asks Buenaventura if the aggregate amounts in his tabular summaries are conclusive proof of the cash on hand or cash in bank of Duterte.
Buenaventura says AMLC records only show transactions.
Vinluan also asks if the tabular summaries are conclusive proof of the alleged unexplained wealth and ill-gotten wealth of the respondent.
Buenaventura says all he can say is that the tabulation is based on reported transactions. He adds that he has no personal knowledge on Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
10:58 a.m. – According to Buenaventura, CTRs and STRs on corporations do not prove that Duterte committed money laundering.
10:55 a.m. – Buenaventura says the AMLC cannot determine, based on STRs alone, if VP Duterte’s transactions are involved in the flood control anomaly, shabu importation and malversation of public funds. He says they need further investigation, if necessary.
10:50 a.m. – Buenaventura says the filing of STRs is not a conclusion of illegal activity and that it is for a court to decide if there is money laundering and if a transaction is illegal.
10:47 a.m. – Buenaventura confirms that AMLC records show remittances were made to Cale88, not to VP Duterte and Carpio.
He also says AMLC records do not show that the business entities Cale88 transacted with are illegitimate.
He adds that there is no mention in the AMLC report that China based entities which transacted with Cale88 represented China or the Chinese government.
There are no records of China funneling funds to Cale88, according to Buenaventura.
10:36 a.m. – Vinluan asks Buenaventura if AMLC has a record of how much of Cale88 Foods Corporation’s transactions redounded to the benefit of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio.
The witness says he is incapable of answering this.
10:30 a.m. – Buenaventura clarifies that they did not rectify the AMLC records they submitted to the Impeachment Court. He says the records have been corrected, upon the request of the covered person, even before these were subpoenaed by the court.
10:18 a.m. – Buenaventura confirms that they did not verify if there are inaccuracies on the information contained in CTRs and STRs.
10:15 a.m. – Buenaventura confirms that the AMLC cannot conclude, through the mere reading of Covered Transaction Reports (CTRs) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), that funds were sourced from an unlawful activity.
10:13 a.m. – Before starting his cross-examination, Atty. Mark Vinluan, counsel for the respondent, says it is not their intention to cause intimidation especially to the members of the Impeachment Court. He specifically mentions Senator-judge Lito Lapid, whom they thank for the maja blanca.
According to Vinluan, their intention in cross-examining the witness is to test his credibility. The counsel apologizes if another message has been conveyed and commits to be more circumspect.
10:05 a.m. – Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura is called to the witness stand.
10:03 a.m. – There are 16 Senator-judges present. Quorum is declared.
10:01 a.m. – Day 34 of the trial is called to order.