Dennis Gasgonia

Article (news)

Victoria Tulad

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s lawyers in a press conference on Thursday dismissed allegations that her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) did not match the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and that this indicates wrongdoing.The documents were presented at the April 22 hearing of the House Committee on Justice that Duterte has opted not to participate in.Atty. Michael Poa, one of Duterte’s counsels, said the AMLC figures are aggregated and do not reflect actual amounts in the bank accounts. “So, simplehan ko lang. Meron akong 1,000 pesos dineposit ko. Winithdraw ko. Ang lalabas sa total sa transactions mo, 2,000 na. Pero actually, ang nasa bangko mo, zero na,” Poa explained. (Let&#x27;s simplify it: If I have P1,000 that I deposit in the bank and then withdraw, then the total transactions would be P2,000. But the actual money in the bank would be zero)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/23/evidence-vs-sara-duterte-surpassed-threshold-of-probable-cause-for-impeachment-luistro-1032">Evidence vs Sara Duterte &#x27;surpassed threshold of probable cause&#x27; for impeachment — Luistro</a></div>“And we are talking about transactions that span over 18 years, if I&#x27;m not mistaken. Over 18 years… Para sa amin it&#x27;s bloated talaga ang number,” he added. Poa clarified, however, that he respects AMLC and is not saying it is wrong.The vice president&#x27;s lawyers also asserted that Duterte’s SALNs prior to becoming vice president should not be part of the investigation since she was not an impeachable officer then.AMLC said it received reports of suspicious and covered bank transactions linked to Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, amounting to P6.77 billion from 2006 to 2025.      Covered transactions are transactions exceeding P500,000.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/23/justice-panel-defers-opening-sara-duterte-carpio-tax-records-pending-legal-review-0034">Justice panel defers opening Sara Duterte, Carpio tax records pending legal review</a></div>Poa stressed that suspicious transactions do not equate to wrongdoing.He also echoed Duterte’s statement that she did not receive any of the alleged money cited in Wednesday’s hearing, including those supposedly coming from the alleged drug lord Samuel Uy. He said what was shown at the hearing was an alleged manager&#x27;s check issued by Uy with Duterte as recipient.“Wala naman dun anything na natanggap talaga nila (There was nothing to show she actually received it). And as you know, the Vice President already issued a statement denying that she had any of the, received any of these amounts of money that were presented yesterday,” Poa stated.<div> </div><div>CASH WAS DECLARED UNDER &#x27;OTHERS&#x27; </div>Poa acknowledged that Duterte did not declare any cash from 2019 to 2024 but said this was declared in the section &quot;others&quot;.“Kasi sa personal items makita niyo doon sa SALN nakasulat doon eh vehicles, others. So yung cash in bank kasama siya doon sa &#x27;others&#x27;,” Poa explained.(In the personal properties section of the SALN, she listed &#x27;vehicles&#x27; and &#x27;others&#x27;. So the cash in bank is in the &#x27;others&#x27;)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/22/amlc-reports-33-suspicious-bank-transactions-under-sara-duterte-husband-1431">AMLC flags P6.7-B &#x27;suspicious, covered&#x27; transactions linked to Sara Duterte, husband </a></div>Despite the allegations, Duterte remains business as usual, her lawyers said.They said she will not attend the last impeachment hearing scheduled on April 29, especially since they have a pending petition before the Supreme Court questioning the proceedings.Atty. Sheila Sison, another Duterte lawyer, said presentation of any supposed evidence before the committee &quot;does not really amount to proof.&quot; She said these still have to pass scrutiny.&quot;When does scrutiny happen? It happens only in a proper trial before a tribunal or a body that has jurisdiction to conduct trial,&quot; she said.

Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyers in a press conference on Thursday dismissed allegations that her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) did not match the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and that this indicates wrongdoing.

Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyers in a press conference on Thursday dismissed allegations that her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) did not match the findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and that this indicates wrongdoing.

Duterte lawyers say AMLC numbers 'aggregated', don't reflect money in accounts

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Duterte lawyers say AMLC numbers 'aggregated', don't reflect money in accounts

Victoria Tulad,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 23, 2026 06:51 PM PHT

Read More:

Impeachment

Sara Duterte

Michael Poa

Sheila Sison

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