DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 April) — Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV alleged that former President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte, along with four of their family members, received P181,653,487.36 from Davao City-based businessman Samuel “Sammy” Uy, whom he accused of being a “drug lord.”
During the resumption of the hearing of the House Committee on Justice on the impeachment complaints against Duterte on April 22, Trillanes said Sara received a total of P22,322,538.21, while the former President received P15,656,692.14 through cashier’s checks and personal checks from Uy in three separate transactions for each of them.
Trillanes also detailed how other members of the Duterte family received payouts from Uy, a well-known political contributor to the former President and associate of Michael Yang, Duterte’s former economic adviser, who had been linked to controversial Pharmally and illegal drug operations at a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) compound in Porac, Pampanga.
According to him, other family members who allegedly received millions in payments from Uy between 2011 and 2013 included Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte, the former President’s partner Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña, and their daughter Veronica.
According to Trillanes, Sebastian received a total of P51.582 million in five transactions; Paolo, P38,814,437.65 in four transactions; and Cielito and Veronica, P53,276,860.55 in five transactions from the businessman.
Aside from this, Trilannes also claimed that Sara and her father had joint accounts, with a total of P2,407,272,103.75 that passed through them.
He said these financial transactions between members of the Duterte family and Uy and other personalities involved in illegal drugs are “deeply concerning” as they constitute a clear violation of the Constitution and other laws and cast serious doubt on her personal integrity, competence, and moral capacity to continue serving as Vice President.
“I believe she must be held accountable and tried through impeachment,” he added.
Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to confirm if amounts cited in the annexes of Trillanes’ sworn statement match those in the AMLC report. The AMLC confirmed 18 of 18 transactions randomly selected, at least to the extent that similar transactions appear in their report.
Trillanes alleged that the Vice President has been involved in corruption since she first entered government service, that she has hidden wealth acquired through illegal means, and that she has failed to declare her true statement of assets and liabilities (SALN).
“In my view, all of this falls under impeachable offenses such as betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes as provided in our Constitution,” he said.
For the third time, the Vice President was a no-show at the House Committee on Justice hearing. She did not attend the hearings on March 25 and April 14 claiming it is a “mini-trial” and a “fishing expedition.”
She has yet to issue a statement on Trillanes’ allegations, and the questions raised by Committee members on the differences between her SALN and the AMLC on the “covered transactions” and “suspicious transactions” of Duterte and husband Manases Carpio which were also presented during the hearing.
On her social media post on April 22, she posted a message on Earth Day. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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