Three lawmakers from the House minority bloc on Friday denounced as “harassment” the complaint filed against them by lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, over the disclosure of bank records linked to the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.
Leila de Lima, Chel Diokno, and Percival Cendaña appeared before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office for the preliminary investigation into allegations that they violated the Bank Secrecy Law and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The complaint stemmed from the House committee on justice’s subpoena of records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council involving Duterte and Carpio during the impeachment proceedings.
Based on AMLC findings presented during the hearings, the Vice President and her husband allegedly had bank transactions amounting to P6.77 billion since 2006.
The lawmakers maintained that the records were necessary in determining whether there was basis for allegations involving Duterte’s unexplained wealth.
De Lima said the complaint was clearly intended to divert public attention from the impeachment case against the Vice President.
“Malinaw na ito’y panlilihis lang sa mga alegasyon na ayaw harapin ni VP Sara,” De Lima said.
(She said the complaint was clearly an attempt to divert attention from allegations that the Vice President allegedly refuses to confront.)
“Ito ay harassment sa mga mambabatas at sa mga indibidwal na ginagampanan ang tungkulin sa pagsusulong ng impeachment bilang mekanismo ng pananagutan na nakasaad sa ating Konstitusyon,” she added.
(This is harassment against lawmakers and individuals performing their duty in pursuing impeachment as a constitutional accountability mechanism.)
De Lima also expressed confidence that the complaint would eventually be dismissed.
“Kompiyansa tayo na mababasura ang kasong ito. Hindi tayo maduduwag na harapin ito dahil wala naman tayong nilalabag na batas,” she said.
(We are confident this case will be dismissed. We are not afraid to face it because we did not violate any law.)
Aside from the three lawmakers, Carpio also filed complaints against House committee on justice chair Gerville Luistro, officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, AMLC personnel, and officials of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cendaña described the complaints as part of what he called “classic Duterte moves,” saying the Vice President’s camp appeared to be retaliating against individuals carrying out their official duties.
Diokno, meanwhile, said they remain confident in their legal position and warned against using the law to intimidate public officials and citizens seeking accountability over allegations involving unexplained wealth, bribery, and malversation.