Marilyn Cahatol

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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17771741923901777159906628.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lawyer Maneses Carpio joins a Senate hearing, September 7, 2017.  <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(2ND UPDATE)</strong> —  Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, is set to file a criminal complaint against officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and House members with the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Monday, for their alleged violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, bank secrecy laws and Data Privacy Act.</p><p>Carpio will file a complaint against BSP Gov. Eli Remolona Jr., AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, as well as House Committee on Justice Chair Gerville Luistro of Batangas and Reps. Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno of Akbayan Party-List and Leila De Lima of Mamamayang Liber Party-List.</p><p>The complaint will allege that the respondents “connived to illegally disclose and divulge classified confidential banking records protected under the RA 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as amended, Bank Secrecy Law (RA 1405) and Data Privacy Act (RA 10173).”</p><p>It charges that “the AMLC and the House Committee on Justice leaked various private record of transactions, expanding to insurance payments, time deposits, investments and utility bill payments.”</p><p>This after the AMLC revealed during the House clarificatory hearing on the impeachment complaint against the vice president that it received reports of &quot;suspicious&quot; and &quot;covered&quot; bank transactions amounting to <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/22/amlc-reports-33-suspicious-bank-transactions-under-sara-duterte-husband-1431">P6.77 billion</a> linked to Duterte and Carpio during a period of nearly two decades.</p><p>Of the amount, P4.425 billion entered their bank accounts while P1.554 billion was released from their accounts. Some P791 million in transactions were categorized as &quot;undetermined&quot; because the old AMLC system could not classify transactions as inflow or outflow.</p><p>Bank transactions are deemed &quot;suspicious&quot; if the money is unjustified, the client is not properly identified, or the amount does not match with the business or financial capacity of a client, among other circumstances, according to AMLC.</p><p>Meanwhile, &quot;covered” means a transaction of more than P500,000 was made in one banking day.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/23/duterte-lawyers-say-amlc-numbers-aggregated-don-t-reflect-money-in-accounts-1851">Duterte lawyers say AMLC numbers &#x27;aggregated&#x27;, don&#x27;t reflect money in accounts</a></div><p>Carpio stressed he was “constrained to seek legal action in defense not only of his wife VP Sara and the Duterte family, but more so in defense of the banking and financial community especially the unwary general public.”</p><p>He said bank records are confidential and protected under AMLA, and “[e]ven the media is banned and may be criminally charged.”</p><p>Luistro stressed during the hearings that the committee was inquiring into transactions and not seeking details of specific accounts.</p><p>&quot;There is no exception. The prohibition is absolute. That is what Congress itself enacted to preserve full security against any disclosure of any information or record obtained by the AMLC,” the vice president&#x27;s husband said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;NO LAWS BROKEN&#x27;</strong></div><p>In a statement Sunday, De Lima said that &quot;as far as the House Committee on Justice is concerned, the proceedings cannot be considered violative of any law.&quot;</p><p>She argued that impeachment cases are not covered by the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law and that only &quot;officers and employees of banks and banking institutions&quot; are barred from disclosure.</p><p>&quot;The fact that evidence of ill-gotten wealth was exposed in the course of the impeachment proceedings does not make such exposure criminal. It is a direct consequence of impeachment as an accountability mechanism,&quot; she also said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/23/duterte-lawyers-say-amlc-numbers-aggregated-don-t-reflect-money-in-accounts-1851">Duterte lawyers say AMLC numbers &#x27;aggregated&#x27;, don&#x27;t reflect money in accounts</a></div><p>Cendaña in his own statement said that the impeachment hearings are an exception to the coverage of the Bank Secrecy Law and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.</p><p>He also said Duterte and her supporters can avoid &quot;wasting&quot; time and paper by just appearing at the April 29 hearing of the House justice committee, where they would be given an opportunity to air their side.</p><p>&quot;May free will at maraming pera naman sila para magfile ng kaso, pero ang tanong ay may nilabag bang batas ang mga miyembro ng CoJ at AMLC? Wala,&quot; he also said.</p><p>(They have the free will and the money to file cases, but the question is did the committee or the AMLC break any laws? None.) </p><div> </div><div><strong>&#x27;BLACK PROPAGANDA&#x27;</strong></div><p>Carpio said the alleged AMLC leak was a tool for “black propaganda and political harassment rather than a legitimate regulatory action.&quot;</p><p>“It is intended to destroy the good reputation of VP Sara and the entire Duterte family. It is diabolical,” he said.</p><p>&quot;AMLA is being weaponized to the max even if illegal and contrary to law, for pure black propaganda with a view to the 2028 national election,” Carpio said.</p><p>Duterte earlier announced her plan to run for president in the 2028 elections. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>FOCUS ON &#x27;CENTRAL ISSUE&#x27;</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, House Committee on Public Accounts Chair Terry Ridon said Sunday said that despite Carpio&#x27;s complaint, the latter did not deny AMLC&#x27;s findings on the ₱6.77 billion in covered and suspicious transactions.</p><p>“In fact, the complaint itself effectively concedes the factual basis of the AMLC findings,” Ridon said.</p><p>He noted that nowhere in the complaint is there a categorical denial of the existence, accuracy, or magnitude of the financial records.</p><p>By focusing on the alleged illegality of disclosure instead of disputing the findings, Ridon said, Carpio effectively &quot;acknowledges&quot; that the transactions, their scale, and the movement of funds are not in dispute.</p><p>“Once the scale of these transactions is no longer disputed, the issue becomes clearer—can these billions be reconciled with declared assets, net worth, and lawful income?” Ridon asked.</p><p>He added that Carpio’s complaint is legally without basis, as the disclosures were made during a valid impeachment inquiry where the House has authority to compel financial records.</p><p>“Confidentiality laws cannot be used to shield public officials from accountability, especially where unexplained wealth is at issue,” he said.</p><p>Despite the complaint, he said the central question remains:</p><p>“Saan nanggaling ang bilyon, at paano ito ipapaliwanag laban sa idineklarang yaman at kita?” <strong><em>— With a report from Rowegie Abanto, ABS-CBN News</em></strong></p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n2Lj9sa19-Y?si=T8V1hhhLZNF5q5JS" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, is set to file a criminal complaint against officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anti-Money Laundering Council and House members for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, bank secrecy laws and Data Privacy Act.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases Carpio, is set to file a criminal complaint against officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Anti-Money Laundering Council and House members for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, bank secrecy laws and Data Privacy Act.

Sara Duterte’s husband to file raps over bank secrecy, data privacy

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Sara Duterte’s husband to file raps over bank secrecy, data privacy

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 26, 2026 11:51 AM PHT

|

Updated April 26, 2026 08:00 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Manases Reyes Carpio

AMLC

BSP

Leila De Lima

Percival Cendaña

Chel Diokno

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