Article XI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution Provision: A public officer or employee shall, upon assumption of office and as often thereafter as may be required by law, submit a declaration under oath of his assets, liabilities, and net worth. In the case of the President, the Vice President, the members of the Cabinet, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the constitutional commissions and other constitutional offices, and officers of the armed forces with general or flag rank, the declaration shall be disclosed to the public in the manner provided by law. The hearings unveiled supposed disparities between the declarations of Duterte in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, and her bank transaction records.

For instance, a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) submitted to the House justice committee noted P6.7 billion in large and suspicious bank transactions in the accounts named under Duterte, including P521 million in fund transfers. That’s despite her net worth that peaked at only P88 million in 2024, cash declarations of only up to P4.3 million from 2007 to 2012, cash declarations of up to P6.4 million from 2016 to 2019, and declaration of zero cash on hand or cash deposits from 2019 to 2024. The impeachment complaints against Duterte have cited culpable violation of the Constitution as among the grounds for her removal from office. 2.

Section 7 of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act Provision: Every public officer, within 30 days after assuming office, thereafter, on or before the 15th day of April following the close of every calendar year, as well as upon the expiration of his term of office, or upon his resignation or separation from office, shall prepare and file with the office of the corresponding department head, or in the case of a head of department or chief of an independent office, with the Office of the President, a true, detailed sworn statement of assets and liabilities, including a statement of the amounts and sources of his income, the amounts of his personal and family expenses and the amount of income taxes paid for the next preceding calendar year. The provision, which enforces what is stated in the Constitution, explicitly says that every public officer must file a “true, detailed sworn” SALN.

“If what you declared in your SALN doesn’t match your actual assets and net worth, that will give rise to the presumption that it is unexplained wealth,” Amando Virgil Ligutan, lawyer for one group of the impeachment complainants, said. Duterte, in a statement after the hearing, insisted that all her properties and funds were properly declared in her SALN. Play Video 3.

Section 4 of RA 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act Provision: Money laundering is a crime whereby the proceeds of an unlawful activity are transacted, thereby making them appear to have originated from legitimate sources. Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno and Attorney Ligutan believe that Duterte may have violated the Anti-Money Laundering Act. During House justice committee deliberations, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura confirmed that from 2006 to 2025, Duterte’s accounts had P4.25 billion in deposits, and P1.5 billion in withdrawals, plus P791 million in undetermined transactions.

AMLC noted 33 suspicious transaction reports by banks involving Duterte’s accounts. There were also 630 covered transaction reports, pertaining to transactions worth at least P500,000 and which required mandatory alerting of government by banks. Representative Zia Alonto Adiong asked AMLC if the process of moving money “in and out” to make it appear legitimate equates to money laundering.

Buenaventura answered in the affirmative. Play Video 4. Section 6.1.1 of Joint Circular No. 2015-01 Provision: Cash advances shall be used for specific legal purpose related to CF [confidential funds] and/or IF [intelligence funds].

Under no circumstance shall it be used for liquidation of the previous cash advance or be transferred from one accountable [officer] to another. This provision was already cited by the Commission on Audit when it issued a notice of disallowance against the Office of the Vice President over its P375 million in confidential expenses in 2023. State auditors flagged the release of cash advances by special disbursing officer Gina Acosta to the Vice President’s security officer Raymund Dante Lachica, violating the explicit prohibition on such a transfer. Duterte was among the persons named liable for the said disallowed amount. – Rappler.com