Barbers reacts to Trillanes bombshell: Duterte financial trail deserves scrutiny

Barbers, also a spokesperson of the prosecution team in Vice President’s impeachment trial, noted that government records have corroborated portions of the financial trail as dissected by Trillanes in the presser.

“The disclosures made today by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV deserve serious attention. Senator Trillanes did not merely give us accusations. He identified a financial trail. And portions of that trail have already been independently corroborated by official records,” he noted.

He said Trillanes’ information was a key reason he was included in the prosecution’s original witness list for article II of the impeachment complaint, which covered allegations concerning Duterte’s wealth, financial transactions, corporate interests, and possible discrepancies in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).

Barbers cited the verification of 19 transactions randomly selected from the annexes of Trillanes’ sworn affidavit during the April 22 House Committee on Justice hearing, which sought to test the substance of the four impeachment complaints filed against the lady official.

All 19 had corresponding transactions in Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records, he said. All 15 bank accounts initially cross-checked by the prosecution against AMLC information also matched.

“That is why Senator Trillanes was on our original witness list. Subsequent official records have provided independent corroboration for significant portions of that trail,” said the former overall chairman of the House quad-committee (quad-comm), which featured Trillanes as a resource person.

Trillanes blew the lid off the Duterte financial trail after he withdrew as a prosecution witness before the Senate impeachment court.

Barbers said the retired Navy lieutenant’s decision to step aside should not be mistaken for the prosecution disowning his disclosures. He stressed that documentary evidence remains available for examination.

“A witness stepping away from the witness stand does not make independently existing documents disappear. AMLC records remain AMLC records. Bank records remain bank records. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) records remain SEC records. SALNs remain sworn public documents,” he explained.

Sammy Uy, Manases Carpio, Cale88

Among the matters raised by Trillanes were historical transactions he said should be compared with Duterte’s SALNs; financial dealings involving members of the Duterte family and businessman Samuel “Sammy” Uy; and corporate records involving Gencorp Industries Inc., Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, and related entities.

He also discussed financial activity involving Cale88 Foods Corporation, which is associated with Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, and alleged more than P319 million in financial inflows from the Chinese government and China-based corporations.

According to panel spokesperson, some of the matters discussed by Trillanes overlap with documentary evidence the prosecution is presenting or seeking to establish before the senator-judges.

The AMLC is expected to present summaries of covered and suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte, Carpio, and juridical entities, along with records of inward remittances to Cale88 from China and other countries and insurance- and investment-related transactions.

What else can be discovered?

Barbers said Trillanes’ additional disclosures should also be examined against official records.

“Ang tanong ngayon ay hindi kung paniniwalaan ba si Trillanes. Ang tanong ay: Ano pa sa mga inilantad niya ang mapapatunayan ng mga opisyal na rekord?”  (The question now is not whether Trillanes should be believed. The question is: What else from his disclosures can be established by official records?) Barbers said.

The prosecution will continue presenting official documents and competent witnesses to establish the financial trail before the impeachment court, he added.

“Sundan ang pera. Sundan ang mga dokumento. Ihambing sa SALN. At hayaang ang opisyal na rekord ang magpatunay kung saan hahantong ang ebidensya,” Barbers said.  (Follow the money. Follow the documents. Compare them with the SALN. And let the official records establish where the evidence leads). — Ellson Quismorio