Dennis Gasgonia

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The case on confidential fund misuse, bribery, and unexplained wealth against Vice President Sara Duterte is closed as far as Bicol Saro Party Rep. Terry Ridon is concerned.</p><p>The House Committee on Public Accounts chairperson on Sunday emphasized that the documentary evidence alone more than justifies a finding of probable cause against the Vice President at the final impeachment hearing on April 29.</p><p> &quot;Tingin ko sapat sapat na, sobra sobra pa ito pong pagpapakita ng probable cause on unexplained wealth at magra-rise sa betrayal of public trust at culpable violation of the Constitution,&quot; he said.</p><p> &quot;Tapos na &#x27;yung usapan ng confidential funds misisuse, tapos na &#x27;yung usapan sa unexplained wealth. Tingin ko may probable cause doon as dalawang bagay na iyon.&quot;</p><div><strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/26/vp-sara-duterte-s-husband-to-file-raps-over-bank-secrecy-data-privacy-1151"><br/></a></strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/26/vp-sara-duterte-s-husband-to-file-raps-over-bank-secrecy-data-privacy-1151"><strong>VP Sara Duterte’s husband to file raps over bank secrecy, data privacy</strong></a></div><p>He pointed out that the P6.7 billion in covered and suspicious transactions the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) flagged from the accounts of Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, from 2006 to 2025 alone already constitutes &quot;overwhelming evidence&quot; of possible unexplained wealth. </p><p>He added hat even for ordinary people, the gap between millions and billions is impossible to ignore.</p><p> He also said that the defense team did not deny the figures the AMLC reported, just challenging their accuracy. </p><p>While there is some merit to the argument that the transactions account for both inflows and outflows, Ridon said the disparity between the millions declared in her net worth and the billions that moved through their accounts remains &quot;deeply significant.&quot;</p><p> “So hindi nila p&#x27;wede ganun pasimplehin po ‘yung bagay na ‘Ay hindi, total lang naman ‘yan.’ Sobrang linaw po ng inflow eh—P4.4 billion. Kaya ang unang tanong, saan po galing ‘yun pong P4.4 billion na ’yun?” Ridon asked.  </p><p> Even limiting the scope to the period when Duterte became an impeachable officer, the numbers remain telling, he said.</p><p> Ridon said the AMLC flagged around P40 million in transactions from her accounts in 2022 alone; yet her declared net worth that year stood at around P70 million, with no specific disclosure of cash on hand or bank deposits.</p><div> <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/24/breaking-down-vp-sara-duterte-s-declared-wealth-real-assets-make-up-most-of-it-2210"><strong>Breaking down VP Sara Duterte’s declared wealth: Real assets make up most of it </strong></a></div><p> The congressman said if those amounts were lumped under &quot;others,&quot; as her lawyers claim, she declared only P5.25 million.</p><p> “Pero alam po ninyo, kahit pagusapan ho natin yung 2022, ang net na lumabas ho doon po sa kanyang accounts nung panahon na ‘yan ay P40 million. So may hinahanap tayong P40 million on top of ‘yun pong P70 million po na net worth,” he added.</p><div> </div><div><strong>NEW INFORMATION</strong></div><p>Ridon also bared he had received information concerning Duterte and her husband’s income net of taxes is around P73 million based on their income tax returns, even when the justice committee has not yet voted on whether to unseal the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) submissions to the panel.</p><p> “May nagsabi sa akin kung ano ho ‘yung income net of taxes mula doon sa ITRs po na ‘yun nito pong magasawang Duterte-Carpio, P73 million lang ho eh ‘yun pong pinag-uusapan po nating income net of taxes nila,” Ridon said.</p><p> Taken at face value, Ridon said, the numbers still do not add up.</p><p> Whether measured against their income as lawyers, he said their earnings from government service, or their business interests as a couple, none of it reconciles with P6.7 billion in total transactions.</p><p> “Ibig sabihin po, by any lens—’yung lens ng income which is P73 million and by lens of net worth yun pong P6.7 billion in total transaction P4.4 billion in net inflows—eh hindi ho talaga uubra ‘yun, given kung ano ho lang ba yung pinagkakakitaan po ng mag-asawa bilang mga abogado, bilang taong-gobyerno at nagkakaroon ng palugi na negosyo,” Ridon said.  </p><div> </div><div><strong>THREAT VS PRESIDENT</strong></div><p>Still up for discussion Ridon said, is the National Bureau of Investigation&#x27;s (NBI) findings on whether Duterte had any genuine intent behind the death threats she made against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.</p><div> <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/22/amlc-reports-33-suspicious-bank-transactions-under-sara-duterte-husband-1431"><strong>AMLC flags P6.7-B &#x27;suspicious, covered&#x27; transactions linked to Sara Duterte, husband </strong></a></div><p> “‘Yun nalang pong pagbabanta sa pangulo ‘yun pong susukatin po natin kung may probable cause sa Miyerkules,” he said.</p><p> According to Ridon, NBI Director Melvin Matibag has uncovered new information on the death threats Duterte made against the president, which he will present at Wednesday’s hearing.</p><p> For Ridon, however, the matter is already beyond dispute.</p><p> As a lawyer and member of the justice committee, he said the vice president&#x27;s public statement that she had contracted someone to assassinate the president speaks for itself; and even without the NBI&#x27;s new findings, the video alone is sufficient to establish that grave threats were made.</p><p> “Even without the additional evidence of the threat, sa totoo lang the video will speak for itself kasi nakita naman ho natin doon mayroon aktwal na pagbabanta laban sa pangulo ng pangalawang pangulo at ang sabi pa nga niya doon ‘no joke,’ di ba?” he stressed.  </p><p> Ridon said that the committee needs only a majority vote, or 21 out of 39 members, to recommend Duterte&#x27;s impeachment. </p><p>Should the majority find probable cause, the committee will draft a report that will serve as the articles of impeachment, to be presented to the plenary for a vote.</p><p> From there, one-third of all House members must vote in favor for the case to be transmitted to the Senate for trial.</p><p> “So sa daarating na Miyerkules, inaasahan natin na magkakaroon po ng pagboboto on probable cause no. Kung favorable, positibo ‘yung bumoboto na ‘yan, aakyat na ho tayo sa plenaryo at aasahan ho natin sa unang bahagi o gitnang bahagi ng Mayo na magkakaroon na po ng botohan sa plenaryo kung maita-transmit ho ba o hindi sa Senado ‘yun pong articles of impeachment,” Ridon said.</p><div>  </div>

<p>The case on confidential fund misuse, bribery, and unexplained wealth against Vice President Sara Duterte is closed as far as Bicol Saro Patry Rep. Terry Ridon is concerned.</p>

The case on confidential fund misuse, bribery, and unexplained wealth against Vice President Sara Duterte is closed as far as Bicol Saro Patry Rep. Terry Ridon is concerned.

'Case closed' on confidential funds misuse, unexplained wealth vs Sara Duterte, Ridon says

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'Case closed' on confidential funds misuse, unexplained wealth vs Sara Duterte, Ridon says

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 26, 2026 05:36 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Confidential Funds

Unexplained wealth

Terry Ridon

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