Sara Duterte had over P10M in withdrawals, check encashment in Dec. 2024 -- AMLC witness

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Vice President Sara Duterte had over P10 million in over-the-counter withdrawals and check encashment in December 2024, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified Monday.

In his testimony during Day 33 of Duterte's impeachment trial, Buenaventura identified the following transactions:

• P2.371 million in an over-the-counter withdrawal reported by Land Bank of the Philippines-San Pedro on December 5, 2024;
• P1.7 million in a check encashment reported by Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.-Davao/Ecoland on December 20, 2024; and
• P5.969 million in a withdrawal reported by BDO Unibank Inc.-Davao Rizal on December 20, 2024.

The prosecution is presenting evidence for Article 2 of the impeachment case against Duterte, which alleges unexplained wealth stemming from her alleged failure to truthfully disclose assets in her SALNs and failure to divest from businesses as required of the President and Vice President under the Constitution.

“CWDLO means withdrawals over the counter... client's withdrawal from its deposit account through over the counter,” Buenaventura said, referring to an acronym in the AMLC report.

Private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia then asked Buenaventura how many days were left before the end of the year when the withdrawals were made.

“11 days, Your Honor,” Buenaventura replied.

Divinagracia then remarked, “11 days, just like the confidential fund."

She was alluding to the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) disbursement of P125 million in confidential funds in 2022 within 11 days, based on Commission on Audit records and the OVP's submission to state prosecutors.

Defense lawyer Mark Vinluan objected to Divinagracia's remark about the confidential funds and moved to strike it from the record.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero granted Vinluan's motion to strike Divinagracia's remark involving the confidential funds but allowed the prosecution to continue presenting evidence through Buenaventura.

On Day 25 of the impeachment trial, prosecution witness lawyer Karen Batu of the Office of the Ombudsman testified that Duterte did not declare cash on hand or cash in bank in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) from 2019 to 2025.— MCG, GMA News

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