VP Sara’s defenses are admissions of guilt

VP Sara Duterte’s alibis are virtual admissions of crime.

Sara is a lawyer. She knows that the law requires her as public official to declare yearly her “cash on hand or in banks.”

But she didn’t do so in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth for seven years, 2019-2025. This was revealed at the House justice committee debates Wednesday on her impeachment.

Sara’s excuse is that she lumped her cash with “other assets.”

“Itataya ko ang aking lisensya pati na lahat ng aking awards: palusot po ‘yan,” remarked former COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza.

“A big insult to my years of studies as an accountant. Cash cannot be categorized as ‘other assets,’ kasi siya ang pinaka-liquid sa lahat,” the post of Ricky S went viral on X.

Photo from House of Representatives

Unlike those for 2019-2025, Sara’s SALNs from 2007 to 2018 separately stated from “other assets” her “cash on hand or in bank.”

Former PMA superintendent, retired Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, weighed in: “Itong SALNs, fourth-class cadet pa lang ay mandatory ginagawa with due diligence. Ipinapaliwanag ito ng bawat company staff, platoon at squad leaders. Ito ay seryoso at hindi binabale-wala.

“May parusa ang hindi pagsumite. Ang pagsinungaling sa written entries ay katumbas ng violation of the Honor Code, na may parusang dismissal. Followed on responsibilidad ang yearly SALNs disclosure at submission sa mga opisyal at miyembro ng AFP at PNP.”

The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, RA 6713, Section 8 is strict:

“Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Financial Disclosure – All public officials and employees, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers and casual or temporary workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of their spouses and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their households.

“The two documents shall contain information on the following: ‘(a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value;

‘(b) personal property and acquisition cost;

‘(c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds and the like…”

Mendoza once told Sapol-dwIZ about the honesty of lowly government employees. Public school teachers, she said, diligently detailed all personal property like a new barong tagalog or pair of leather shoes, separate from coins in piggybanks and modest balances of salaries paid through Land Bank.

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Through her lawyer, Sara claimed as deceptive the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s presentation of her bank transactions. Michael Poa said AMLC merely added up Sara’s deposits and withdrawals over 19 years to a stupendous P6.77 billion.

Yet AMLC in fact broke down the P6.77 billion into inflows of P4.43 billion, outflows of P1.55 billion and indeterminate records for P791 million.

AMLC covered 630 transactions of P500,000 and higher. It flagged 33 suspicious transactions for possible money laundering and unlawful sources.

One of the flagged items was P55.15 million. AMLC noted a surge in the historical trend of Sara’s bank transactions to P208.1 million in 2007, P704.9 million in 2009, P648.5 million in 2010 and P597.1 million in 2011.

Sara’s salary as mayor or vice mayor from 2007 to the first half of 2022, then as VP onto 2025, can’t justify it. Total was only P73 million net of income taxes, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon computed.

Sara reported to SEC P19-million business losses. So her legal net income should only be P54 million, Ridon said.

Some of the unexplained deposits were from drug lord Samuel Uy, ex-senator Antonio Trillanes alleged. Semestral payments initially were made via manager’s checks to Sara, father Rodrigo, brothers Paolo and Sebastian and Rodrigo’s common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña with their daughter Kitty Duterte.

Sara’s defense is innuendo. She claimed that Trillanes is working for President Bongbong Marcos.

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Sara is charged with threatening to assassinate BBM, First Lady Liza Araneta and ex-Speaker Martin Romualdez. Her lawyers claim it was mere “metaphor, hyperbole.”

But NBI director Melvin Matibag said that Sara did hire an assassin, though he still has to ascertain who.

Sara is the first VP to require her own security and protection group. AFP assigned her 433 officers and enlisted men. It was for them that she asked Malacañang on Aug. 22, 2022 for P250-million confidential fund.

The Palace released P125 million on Dec. 21. She reported using it all up by Dec. 31 – or only 11 days including Christmas and Rizal Day holidays.

Ramil Madriaga testified that he distributed the funds for Sara not in 11 days but only one day. He formed the VP Security and Protection Group for Sara, so knew its heads, Cols. Dennis Nolasco and Reymund Lachica.

Sara denied knowing Madriaga or having any personal dealings with him. But a video was played at the House hearing in which Sara held up and read a banner, “Happy birthday Sir Ram, I wish you good health and happiness.”

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