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Jose Rodel Clapano - The Philippine Star
April 25, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Official records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) raise serious and unavoidable questions about the true financial standing of Vice President Sara Duterte, Manila 3rd district Rep. Joel Chua said yesterday.
“The truth has been revealed, our Vice President is a billionaire. It is an undisputed fact – not based on mere testimony, but on official documents and government records that, until now, have remained beyond public scrutiny,” Chua said.
The lawyer stressed that the magnitude and frequency of transactions reflected in the AMLC documents cannot be brushed aside or trivialized.
“The only question that must be answered is simple but fundamental: who gave her money of this magnitude, and why was she receiving such amounts regularly?” he said.
Chua also raised the issue of non-disclosure, pointing to what he described as inconsistencies between AMLC findings and Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).
“Another question that lingers in the mind of the public: why were these billions hidden? Why is it not included in the SALN? Why do they insist that they have nothing?” Chua asked.
He further challenged claims that the funds could have come from legitimate business activities.
“If they will say that it came from business, the records of the Securities and Exchange Commission are very clear how many companies are tied to them that are bankrupt or are not earning at the level that can explain the billions of pesos of money flow,” Chua said.
He added that the next layer of verification would involve tax records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
“If they earned billions in business or law firms, the tax filings must be clear. If the income and taxes are not proportionate, clearly there is a problem.
“At this point, the matter transcends politics. This is about accountability under the law. When there is a clear disparity between declared assets, documented financial flows and potential tax liabilities, it points to a possible case of unexplained wealth,” he added.
Not part of impeachment
Amid these allegations, a counsel for Duterte said that the AMLC report and other documents cited in the House hearings are not part of the two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President.
Lawyer Sheila Sison questioned the proceedings of the House committee on justice.
“We cannot file a new petition (before the Supreme Court) since we already have a pending case but if you’re asking us, if what we’ve seen so far from the committee hearing actually supports what we had stated in that petition,” Sison said.
