Manila: House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Quezon Rep. David 'Jayjay' Suarez, on Wednesday, highlighted a significant mismatch between Vice President Sara Duterte's declared assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and the larger volume of bank transactions reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

According to Philippines News Agency, the issue was brought to light during a panel hearing on the impeachment complaints against Duterte. Lawmakers were examining documentary evidence related to alleged unexplained wealth and comparing SALN entries against AMLC-reported movements in bank accounts linked to the Vice President and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

Suarez engaged with AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura to clarify how the agency receives its reports, establishing that the red flags are not from AMLC investigations but are reported by the banks themselves. Buenaventura confirmed that banks determine which transactions are considered flagged or suspicious and report them to AMLC.

Suarez emphasized the need for public understanding that the transactions in question are being reported by the banks and are not simply the focus of AMLC investigations. Buenaventura affirmed this, indicating that banks voluntarily report these transactions to AMLC without any initial prompting from the agency.

The SALN record presented earlier to the House Committee on Justice supported Suarez's point. It showed that Vice President Duterte's declared net worth increased from PHP7.2 million in 2007 to PHP71.058 million in 2022, and further to PHP88.512 million in 2024. However, from 2019 to 2024, her SALNs showed no declared cash on hand or cash in bank.

Suarez pointed out that despite the increase in her declared wealth, the most liquid asset entries disappeared from her SALNs over six years. He also questioned whether the AMLC figures presented might still be incomplete, as banks only report transactions that exceed statutory thresholds or trigger suspicion markers.

Buenaventura explained that only transactions above PHP500,000 or those deemed suspicious are reported to AMLC, suggesting that lower-value transactions might not have been included in the agency's records. This led Suarez to propose that the financial activity might be more extensive than currently known if further scrutiny captures transactions missed by bank reporting criteria.

Although Buenaventura did not confirm this possibility, he acknowledged that it could theoretically exist.