By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — A complaint filed by lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio over the disclosure of financial records linked to him and Vice President Sara Duterte has hit a jurisdictional roadblock, with Quezon City prosecutors recommending that the case be dismissed without prejudice.
The recommendation was contained in a September 7, 2026 resolution of the Quezon City Office of the City Prosecutor, according to Carpio’s legal team.
Carpio’s lawyer, Peter Paul Danao, said the finding does not resolve the underlying allegations on their merits. Instead, the prosecutor’s action centers on whether the Quezon City office is the proper forum to hear the complaint.
Danao said Carpio’s camp had yet to receive the official copy of the resolution and would study the document before deciding how to proceed.
He said Carpio retains the legal remedies available to him, including the possibility of bringing the matter before another government body with jurisdiction.
The dispute arose from congressional proceedings in which financial information involving Carpio and Duterte was disclosed during a House Committee on Justice hearing on the impeachment complaint against the Vice President.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council disclosed information concerning “suspicious” and “covered” transactions totaling P6.77 billion that were linked to Duterte and Carpio over nearly two decades.
Carpio’s camp subsequently challenged the disclosure, arguing that AMLC law prohibits the council from revealing information obtained in the course of its functions.
His lawyers also argued that congressional hearings were not among the exceptions allowed under the country’s bank secrecy laws.
Carpio filed complaints last April against several lawmakers, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. and AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura over the disclosure.
The prosecutor’s jurisdictional finding has now shifted the immediate legal question from whether the alleged disclosures violated the law to which government institution has authority to hear the complaint.
Danao said the resolution identified the Office of the Ombudsman as the appropriate forum based on the jurisdictional issue.
The recommendation drew favorable reactions from several lawmakers named as respondents.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña said the House committee was performing its role in the impeachment proceedings and maintained that the financial information was disclosed as part of that process.
ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima described the complaint as an attempt to intimidate lawmakers, while House prosecutor and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon rejected the allegations against the House prosecutors and other respondents.
The dismissal recommendation is without prejudice, meaning the jurisdictional finding does not necessarily prevent Carpio from pursuing the matter through the forum identified as having authority over the complaint.
His camp is expected to determine its next legal step after reviewing the official resolution.
