15 bank accounts of Sara, Mans match AMLC records

MANILA, Philippines —  The House prosecution panel’s initial scrutiny of the bank accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio yielded positive results as 15 of them “matched” the details presented by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

“All (cross-checked) 15 matched the accounts that were identified by the AMLC,” Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, a member of the House prosecution team, said at a news briefing yesterday.

Chua, a lawyer, said they expect the defense to question former senator Antonio Trillanes’ credibility and the documents he provided by highlighting his prejudice toward the Duterte family.

But Chua maintained that the prosecution team would rely heavily on the authenticity of the AMLC documentary evidence.

“This cannot just be a say so of anybody, without any iota of evidence,” Chua said.

The prosecution is also expected, as mentioned by impeachment trial presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero, to start presenting the unexplained wealth case of the Duterte couple on Sept. 14.

“This will be explosive, this will be exciting,” House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union said as public and private prosecutors prepared the bank records and sought ways to shorten the next phase of Duterte’s impeachment trial.

He pointed to the large amounts moving through accounts as earlier discussed during the House committee on justice hearings, saying the financial records had drawn intense attention when they were first presented in 2025.

The prosecution, to be led by public prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno (Akbayan party-list), is scheduled to begin its Article II (ill-gotten wealth) presentation on Monday.

The dates of Sept. 9 and 10 were set aside for marking more than 1,800 documents, including bank and insurance records, produced under court subpoenas.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Escudero directed Diokno to submit the prosecution’s witnesses for the following week and prepare for the scheduled resumption.

“So that we save on the court’s time and we will proceed as scheduled on Monday for the trial,” he said.

Escudero also announced full-day trial settings on Oct. 1 and 2, Oct. 5 to 9 and Oct. 12 to 15 before a suspension to give way to the Senate’s budget work.

25 witnesses

The House prosecution panel may present up to 25 witnesses to prove its allegations of unexplained wealth against the Vice President.

But Chua said the number will depend on whether the defense agrees to stipulate the authenticity of bank and other financial records of Duterte and her husband.

He said the prosecution submitted a request for admission, asking the Duterte camp to admit to the authenticity and ownership of certain bank accounts.

Chua said they are looking at 15 bank officials and if the defense agrees to stipulations, the witnesses “will be reduced by 10, more or less.”

“If they don’t agree, then we could have 20 to 25 witnesses,” he said.

Also lined up as prosecution witnesses are former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla or any representative of his office, as well as representatives from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission and AMLC. – Daphne Galvez