MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio, on Monday, April 27, filed a criminal complaint against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr., Anti–Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, and four members of the House justice committee hearing the impeachment complaints against his wife.

The complaint filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office alleges violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, bank secrecy laws, and the Data Privacy Act.

Also named in the complaint are House justice committee chair Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro, and panel members Akbayan representatives Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno, and Mamamayang Liberal Representative Leila de Lima.

Carpio alleged that the AMLC and the House panel improperly disclosed private financial records during the third impeachment hearing of Duterte on Wednesday, April 22. These records reportedly included insurance payments, time deposits, investments, and utility bill transactions.

During the hearing, AMLC revealed that a total of P6.77 billion in alleged large and suspicious transactions passed through the bank accounts of Duterte and Carpio from 2006 to 2025, amounts that far exceeded those declared in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

The AMLC noted that P230.87 million of these transactions occurred between 2019 and 2024, years when Duterte reportedly did not declare cash or cash deposits in her SALNs.

In a statement issued Thursday, April 23, Duterte maintained that her SALN declarations were accurate but did not provide specific details.

She also criticized newly installed AMLC officials for “remaining silent” and failing to clarify that no violations of anti-money laundering laws had been established, adding that claims of billions of pesos in bank accounts were untrue.

In an ambush interview on Monday, Carpio’s lawyer Peter Danao neither confirmed nor deny the AMLC report, saying that their camp did not receive a copy of the said report. 

BSP Governor Remolona said he has yet to receive a copy of the complaint and will respond appropriately upon receipt, before the proper forum.

“We emphasize that the BSP and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) continue to perform their mandates in accordance with law, guided by independence, professionalism, and due process,” the BSP said in a statement on Monday.

‘No violation’

De Lima reiterated that the House committee on justice did not violate any law during the last impeachment hearing.

“Cases of impeachment, being sui generis, are not covered by the prohibition under the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law. The hearings aim to determine probable cause in validly initiated complaints referred by the House and acted upon by the Committee on Justice,” she said in a statement on Sunday, April 26, after the release of a media advisory on Carpio’s complaint to be filed the following day.

Citing the Anti-Money Laundering Act, she stressed that “financial secrecy cannot be used to conceal unlawful activity.” De Lima had taken the same position when the issue was raised during the April 22 hearing of the House justice panel.

Diokno echoed this position during that hearing, arguing that the Bank Secrecy Law should not serve as a shield for public officials.

“In an impeachment case, we are talking about accountability — a call for public officials to be transparent,” he said.

During the April 22 hearing, panel chair Luistro had clarified, in response to a question from Bukidnon Representative Jonathan Keith Flores, that the subpoena issued to the AMLC report did not cover specific bank accounts but was limited to reports on covered and suspicious transactions. – Rappler.com