Sara Duterte’s P6.7-B bank transactions don’t match her SALN declarations

MANILA, Philippines – A total of P6.77 billion in large and suspicious transactions flowed through the bank accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio, from 2006 to 2025, dwarfing the amounts declared by Duterte in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said these include P230.87 million in transactions from 2019 to 2024, years when Duterte did not declare cash and cash deposits in her SALNs.

The AMLC told the House justice committee on Wednesday, April 22, that banks submitted a total of 630 covered transaction reports (CTRs) and 33 suspicious transaction reports (STRs) involving Duterte and Carpio’s bank accounts from 2006 to 2025.

CTRs involve transactions in cash exceeding P500,000, while STRs involve transactions that are, regardless of amount, made under suspicious circumstances.

Duterte, during her terms as vice mayor and mayor of Davao City and later as vice president, submitted SALNs to the Office of the Ombudsman for 15 non-consecutive years.

In her SALNs from 2007 to 2012, and then 2016 to 2018, her declared cash and cash deposits ranged only from P2 million to P3.8 million. She stopped making such declarations beginning 2019.

Based only on her SALNs, Duterte’s net worth peaked at P88 million in 2024. When she entered politics in 2007, her net worth was P7.25 million.

“What is puzzling is that the story doesn’t seem to add up with the numbers. Based on the SALN mentioned earlier by Congressman Terry Ridon, a certain amount of cash on hand was declared. However, based on the flow of funds, the amount reported by the banks to the AMLC is significantly higher than what appears in the SALN,” Deputy Speaker Jay-Jay Suarez said in Filipino.

The unprecedented official release of Vice President Duterte’s bank transactions was made possible after the House justice committee, which is presiding over her impeachment hearing, subpoenaed AMLC.

The impeachment complaints against the Vice President seek her removal from office, partly because of her supposed unexplained wealth. – Rappler.com