By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The House prosecution panel has rejected claims that lawmakers violated the law by obtaining and disclosing Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records used in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said the House justice committee acted within its constitutional authority when it conducted clarificatory hearings and subpoenaed AMLC documents related to the impeachment complaints.
Luistro invoked Article XI, Section 3(1) of the 1987 Constitution, which gives the House the exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases.
She also cited the Bank Secrecy Law, or Republic Act No. 1405, which permits the examination of bank deposits in impeachment cases.
The same provision was relied upon by Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero in allowing AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura to testify about financial transactions involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
Luistro said the prosecution maintains that neither the House proceedings nor the ongoing Senate trial violated confidentiality rules governing AMLC information.
She also warned that threats of criminal liability could discourage journalists from covering the impeachment proceedings, which she described as a matter of significant public interest.
Buenaventura’s testimony included financial records involving Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. He confirmed transactions totaling P193 million in a single day in 2014.
He also testified that CALE88, a company owned by Carpio, received more than P319.3 million from China.
The figures had previously been raised by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who later withdrew his plan to testify before the impeachment court.
ia/xf
