Lawyers for Vice President Sara Duterte argued before the Senate impeachment court that former President Rodrigo Duterte had the authority to make transactions on their joint Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) account without her signature.
During cross-examination on Wednesday, defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa asked BPI official Marwin Galvez whether the former president could transact alone under the account arrangement. Galvez confirmed that Rodrigo Duterte could do so independently, while Sara Duterte could not transact without her father’s consent or signature.
Galvez testified that a peso time deposit account opened on January 22, 2010, with an initial amount of P40.65 million was registered under the names of Rodrigo Duterte and Sara Duterte. The deposit was reportedly renewed 12 times and grew to about P41.72 million by February 2011.
According to bank records presented in court, the proceeds amounting to P41.72 million were transferred on March 9, 2011, to a BPI Julia Vargas branch account also registered under the father and daughter. The amount was later used to purchase a manager’s check.
Galvez also confirmed another manager’s check transaction for the same amount on October 20, 2011.
Private prosecutor Atty. James Bryan Ibrahim Alih questioned the movement of funds through manager’s checks, arguing that such transactions may not appear in year-end account balances because the money remains in transit.
The prosecution said it aims to establish a connection between the P41.72 million transaction and a separate P55 million amount that allegedly converged in the same BPI branch and was later used to purchase insurance policies.
The testimony revisited allegations first raised in 2016 by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV regarding supposed undeclared bank deposits of Rodrigo Duterte, including a joint account with Sara Duterte. Trillanes had accused the former president of failing to declare P211 million in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero clarified that evidence involving older transactions may only be used to establish a possible pattern or financial baseline and not as a separate impeachable offense.
Meanwhile, Metrobank Anti-Money Laundering Division head Atty. Niña Feren Aguilar testified that banks follow a strict review process before filing Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Under questioning from Senator-Judges Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros, Aguilar said negative media reports alone do not automatically trigger the filing of STRs. She explained that transactions undergo verification and internal review before reports are submitted.
Aguilar also said frontline bank personnel cannot directly file STRs with the AMLC, noting that reports must pass through the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering Division and receive proper approval before submission. ||
