Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura takes his oath as a prosecution witness during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Monday, October 5, 2026. Buenaventura is set to testify and present documents under Article II of the impeachment case, which alleges unexplained wealth involving the Vice President. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) received transaction reports in the bank accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, covering financial transactions totaling P4.4 billion, agency records presented Monday before the Senate impeachment court showed.
The figure emerged as the court began examining the bank transactions of Duterte and her husband in connection with allegations that she amassed unexplained wealth, one of four grounds in the impeachment case against her.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified before the court and presented a summary of the covered transaction reports (CTR) and suspicious transaction reports (STRs) involving the couple.
The receipt of a transaction report, however, does not automatically mean that illegal funds were involved. A CTR is triggered when a transaction of P500,000 or more is made within one banking day, while an STR has no automatic monetary threshold and is filed when an account or transaction exhibits suspicious circumstances as defined under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The AMLC received 666 CTRs and 55 STRs involving bank accounts of Duterte and her husband, Buenaventura said. The reports covered transactions from 2007 to 2025, spanning Duterte's time as Davao City vice mayor through her vice presidency, which began in 2022.
CTRs and STRs involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. Screenshot from Senate livestream via Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News
Paolo Tamase, associate dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, said that the number of CTRs and STRs submitted to the AMLC was "quite large" when compared to Duterte and her husband's income.
Tamase, however, pointed out a limitation in the AMLC report: it only showed the couple's cash flow but it doesn't reveal their balance in the bank accounts.
"Hindi naman ibig sabihin noon necessarily na suspicious 'yung scheme kasi puwede naman na tingi-tingi talaga 'yung deposits and then nawi-withdraw every few months na malalaking amounts," Tamase said on the ABS-CBN News Channel.
Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan repeatedly objected to the presentation of AMLC documents concerning reports before Duterte assumed the vice presidency, as he questioned their relevance to the trial.
But presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero overruled his objections and noted that the reports would only be used to establish baseline and pattern and would not be used to allege fresh accusations.
LOWER THAN HOUSE FIGURE
Buenaventura also explained why the total value of the CTRs and STRs was lower than the P6.7 billion cited during a hearing at the House of Representatives.
"Yung sinubmit naming noon, iba po 'yong scope ng naging coverage noon, 'yong subpoena at the time was from 2006 to 2025 po at saka banks lang po 'yong involved doon. 'Yong subpoena na na-receive namin from this Honorable Court (Senate), from 2007 to 2025 at lahat ng covered persons so hindi lang bangko," he explained.
There was also a request for correction on 13 CTRs, Buenaventura added.
Prosecutor Mae Divinagracia and Buenaventura also discussed specific CTRs covering millions of pesos in transactions. These included two P2-million transactions that both took place on Sept. 22, 2022.
Divinagracia said the prosecution would later "demonstrate through the corresponding SALNs and supporting records that these financial assets do not appear among the assets disclosed by the respondent-vice president" from 2019 to 2022 "to establish again, Your Honor, pattern and not baseline."
Vinluan objected to Divinagracia’s statement, calling it "improper."
The prosecution also highlighted CTRs covering six transactions dated Aug. 6, 2024, in which Carpio withdrew a total of P41 million in a single day.
CTRs and STRs involving 15 companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. Screenshot from Senate livestream via Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News
The AMLC summary also covered CTRs and STRs involving 15 companies linked to Duterte and her husband. The companies were the subject of 4,013 CTRs and 1,212 STRs covering reported transactions totaling P4.5 billion. — With a report from Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News