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. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The National Security Council said it will look into potential national security implications of millions of pesos reportedly remitted from China to Cale88 Food Corp., a business linked to Vice President Sara Duterte.
Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura told the Senate impeachment court on Monday that the AMLC had received reports of P319 million going into Cale88 from China.
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ASSESSMENT NEEDED
In a statement, National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban Jr. said the NSC "takes seriously" the information laid out at Duterte's impeachment trial.
He acknowledged that the trial is ongoing and that the allegations need to be "properly examined within established legal processes" but said the information warrants "careful, in-depth, and responsible assessment."
Duterte spokesperson Atty. Paolo Panelo, commenting on similar allegations from former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, said Buenaventura had only testified on reports that banks submitted on covered and suspicious transactions.
"He did not, because he could not, confirm, and the prosecution still has to prove, that any money attributed to the vice president was illegally sourced, was hidden, or was even hers to begin with," Panelo said Tuesday.
Oban, a former armed forces chief, said the council will look into the information and work with intelligence and investigative agencies "to assess the national security implications, if any, arising from the reported transactions."
Tension between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea has raised concerns of espionage and of influence operations to undermine Manila's position on the country's rights in its own exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
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