Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura finally took the stand at the Senate impeachment court on Monday, October 5, and walked senator-judges through ₱4.4 billion in "covered and suspicious" transactions involving Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio. It was the 33rd trial day and the longest yet, at about eight hours, according to the Philippine Star.
Note the number. When the testimony was first scheduled last week, GMA News reported the AMLC total at ₱6.7 billion (₱3.7 billion for the Vice President, ₱2.998 billion for Carpio). On Monday, GMA News' Llanesca T. Panti reported the figure had been "revised down from P6.7 billion after BPI correction." That is a ₱2.3-billion swing in a matter of days, and none of the reporting reviewed by Pulpulitiko explains in detail what the bank's error was.
What the AMLC said
According to GMA News, the ₱4.4 billion breaks down into ₱1.63 billion in inflows, ₱1.3 billion in outflows and ₱1.4 billion of undetermined direction. The Philippine Star reports the records span 2007 to 2025 and were presented under Article II of the complaint, which accuses the Vice President of accumulating wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and of failing to fully disclose assets in her 2022–2024 SALNs.
Specific items, per GMA News: three December 2024 withdrawals by the Vice President (₱2.371 million from Land Bank on Dec. 5; ₱1.7 million from Metrobank and ₱5.969 million from BDO on Dec. 20); ₱41 million withdrawn by Carpio on a single day, August 6, 2024, across BDO (₱23 million) and PNB (₱18 million); and ₱319 million in remittances from China and Hong Kong to Cale88 Foods Corporation, a company linked to Carpio's business interests. The Star adds seven inter-account transfers totaling ₱193.71 million on March 28, 2014, and says the AMLC holds 34 suspicious transaction reports on the Vice President and at least 30 on her husband, with banks citing concerns such as "graft," "malversation of public funds," and news reports.
The defense's fight, and its limits
Defense counsel Mark Vinluan repeatedly argued the AMLC reports are confidential and objected to testimony on foreign currency accounts. Presiding Officer Francis Escudero overruled him, saying confidentiality "cannot be construed to disable the AMLC from performing...investigative" functions, per GMA News. The Daily Tribune reported the defense lost its bid to block Buenaventura outright and warned of legal action; the details of that threat were not available in the reporting reviewed.
The defense has also characterized bank alerts as "not proof of criminal activity," per the Tribune. That is a fair legal point worth keeping in mind: a suspicious transaction report is a flag, not a finding, and the AMLC testimony does not by itself establish where any money came from. What it does is supply the paper trail that the prosecution must now tie to the SALNs.
What remains unknown
Neither outlet reported that the Vice President or Carpio had offered a documented explanation for the specific transactions on Monday. Cross-examination of Buenaventura continues October 6. Prosecutors have signalled they will drop the bribery count (Article III), with a verdict targeted for December 16, according to GMA News. Whether the SALN count can carry the case on records alone is the question the court now faces.
Context
Pulpulitiko has previously reported that prosecutors may abandon the bribery charge because the Senate must pivot to the ₱7.2-trillion 2027 budget, and that the AMLC session was postponed on Day 32 after the defense said it received only summaries that morning.
Sources
- GMA News (Llanesca T. Panti), "Sara Duterte impeachment trial Day 33: AMLC witness spills P4.4 billion 'suspicious' bank transactions" — https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/1004873/sara-duterte-impeachment-trial-day-33-amlc-witness-spills-p4-4-billion-suspicious-bank-transactions/story/
- GMA News (Llanesca T. Panti), "AMLC testimony on VP Sara, Mans' bank records moved to Monday, Oct. 5, 2026" — https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/1004472/amlc-testimony-on-vp-sara-mans-bank-records-moved-to-monday-oct-5-2026/story/
- Philippine Star, "Sara Duterte trial recap, Oct. 5: Longest trial day as AMLC bares records" — https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2026/10/06/2561299/sara-duterte-trial-recap-oct-5-longest-trial-day-amlc-bares-records
- Daily Tribune, "Duterte defense warns legal action, loses bid to block AMLC chief" — https://tribune.net.ph/2026/10/05/duterte-defense-warns-legal-action-loses-bid-to-block-amlc-chief