Ridon: We have new evidence of Sara Duterte properties not in her SALN

MANILA, Philippines — Part of the prosecution’s pre-trial brief is a new set of evidence showing several personal properties supposedly owned by Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband that were not in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Friday.

Ridon in an online interview with reporters said that the new evidence has almost the same weight as the bank accounts of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio — which were tackled during the hearings at the House of Representatives’ committee on justice.

“Aside from the new documents and witnesses like the bank accounts of the Duterte-Carpio couple, we can expect new evidence in the coming week.  So it would be better if this would be disclosed during the pre-trial submission,” Ridon told reporters covering the House.

READ: Ridon rejects claims House delaying Duterte impeachment trial

“But I think this carries almost the same magnitude as the bank accounts.  One of the basis for the unexplained wealth allegation is the non-disclosure of assets owned by our Vice President and her husband.  So like the bank accounts, there are some properties that were not disclosed in her [SALN] over the course of all the years.,” he added.

This evidence, Ridon said, has never been presented during the committee hearings and will only be revealed at the pre-trial brief and pre-trial conference.

“So there is new evidence that had never been discussed, disclosed during any proceeding including the House justice committee proceedings.  So we will present it during trial proper, and it will be disclosed to the public by the pre-trial submissions and conference,” he added.

While the valuation of personal properties is not seen to exceed the billion mark, Ridon noted that the omission of personal properties from a SALN was enough to convict former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

In May 2012, 20 senators including then presiding officer and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile found Corona guilty of Article 2 of the impeachment complaint filed against him, pertaining to his failure to disclose in his SALN certain properties.

READ: Marcos Jr. and SALNs: The importance of transparency

“It won’t reach billions in value, but these are personal properties ah, these are not real properties.  But this would be like the millions of pesos worth of properties, and these are not one or two but numerous pieces of property.  So I think we will get an evaluation expert for it.,” Ridon said.

“Aside from its value, I think the more important point would be its non-disclosure, non-statement in the SALNs of the Vice President.  And to be clear, that was one of the basis for conviction of former Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona, that exact, specific, non-disclosure of assets,” he added.

After revealing this information, Ridon was asked whether the prosecution is allowed to present new evidence after the committee on justice hearings, considering that Duterte’s camp has been complaining about the insertion of evidence that was not part of the complaints filed.

In response, Ridon said that it is allowed, noting that the prosecution can even present witnesses well into the trial stage if the Senate Impeachment Court deems it relevant to the discussions.

“I think that is allowed, if it is going to serve the main basis for the articles of impeachment and what we seek to prove, that can be allowed.  In fact, even beyond the pre-trial proceedings, if it is relevant — if it is something that is accepted by the Senate Impeachment Court, we can still do that,” he noted.

During the committee hearings, Ridon focused on Duterte’s SALN, believing that there was an increase in the Vice President’s net worth that is not proportionate to her salary.

When there were questions on how allegations of ill-gotten wealth will be supported, Ridon pointed to Duterte’s SALN, noting that her net worth rose by over 1,000 percent from 2008 to 2024.

Ridon then said that Duterte’s SALN in 2008 showed a net worth of P18.49 million, while her net worth in her 2023 SALN was at P77.50 million, and then P88.51 million for 2024 — representing a 378 percent increase from 2008 to 2024.

However, the lawmaker noted that if figures were based on Duterte’s 2007 SALN — the first year that she became a public official — the jump from a net worth of P7.2 million to 2024’s P88.51 million represents a 1,120 percent spike.

Aside from the SALN issue, Duterte faced several accusations during the course of the committee on justice’s hearing.  During the April 22 hearing, Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Buenaventura confirmed that they saw covered and suspicious transactions made by Duterte and Carpio.

AMLC also confirmed that they saw P6.7 billion in total transactions from bank accounts of the Duterte-Carpio couple, including, P4.4 billion in inflows and P1.5 billion worth of outflows.

Later that day, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima randomly picked 18 transactions posted in Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s affidavit against Duterte, asking if this would match the records at AMLC’s hand.

Eventually, Buenaventura said that while they cannot divulge information about the nature of the transfers, 18 out of the 18 transactions identified by de Lima were confirmed to be part of AMLC’s records. /mr