Chinese State Firms Sent Funds to Company Linked to VP Duterte's Husband, Hontiveros Says
Key Takeaways
- •Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that Cale88 Foods Corp., whose shareholder is the Vice-President's husband Manases Carpio, received P319.33 million in remittances from Mainland China and Hong Kong, including P315.94 million from Mainland China and P3.39 million from Hong Kong.
- •Suspicious transaction reports cited in court identified four Chinese companies that remitted money to Cale88 in 2024: Yiwu Yunnong Import and Export, Beijing Zhenweifang Food Co. Ltd., Jinhua Dongxi Trading Co. Ltd., and China National Township Enterprise.
- •Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros said several remitting firms carried Chinese state or party affiliations, noting China National Township's supervision by SASAC and Beijing Zhenweifang's ownership by state-owned Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group.
- •Buenaventura declined to say whether the AMLC was investigating the ownership linkages, citing the subpoena's scope, and stated that a suspicious transaction report by itself does not establish money laundering or another illegal activity.
- •The National Security Council said it would investigate the financial inflows from China to Cale88, while prosecutors plan to connect the remittance records with testimony from 13 subpoenaed bank officials.
Several Chinese state-owned enterprises remitted funds to a company whose shareholder is the husband of Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Senator-Judge Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said on Tuesday, raising questions over P319.33 million in remittances from Mainland China and Hong Kong.
Speaking in the impeachment proceedings, Ms. Hontiveros said her office examined the Chinese companies identified in testimony by Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel U. Buenaventura and found that several were owned by the Chinese government.
Mr. Buenaventura, testifying as a prosecution witness, confirmed that Cale88 Foods Corp., in which the Vice-President's husband, Manases R. Carpio, was a shareholder, received P319.33 million in remittances from Mainland China and Hong Kong. Of the total, P315.94 million came from Mainland China and P3.39 million from Hong Kong.
Reading from AMLC suspicious transaction reports, he told the court that four Chinese companies remitted money to Cale88 in 2024: Yiwu Yunnong Import and Export, Beijing Zhenweifang Food Co. Ltd., Jinhua Dongxi Trading Co. Ltd., and China National Township Enterprise.
Ms. Hontiveros said China National Township was previously directly under China's Ministry of Agriculture before becoming a large state-owned agricultural enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. Citing open-source research, she said Beijing Zhenweifang Food was owned by Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group, which she described as a state-owned company that advances the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. She added that the chairman of Beijing Zhenweifang was a member of district committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Several of the remitting firms thus carried state or party affiliations — the detail Ms. Hontiveros highlighted in pressing the AMLC to examine the linkages behind the remittances.
“So my question, Atty. Buenaventura, is: Are these linkages being investigated by AMLC?” she asked.
Mr. Buenaventura said he could not answer because the question went beyond the scope of the impeachment court's subpoena. “I have to review what you mentioned,” he said. “I wasn't able to get everything, Your Honor, but we take note of what you brought up.”
The National Security Council later said it would investigate the information presented during the impeachment proceedings about financial inflows from China to Cale88. While cautioning that Ms. Duterte's impeachment trial was still under way, it said the information required careful, in-depth and responsible assessment.
In a statement, Vice-Presidential spokesman Salvador Paolo A. Panelo, Jr. said Mr. Buenaventura's testimony did not establish allegations by former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV of illegal transactions, including links to China and drug trafficking.
During cross-examination, Mr. Buenaventura said a suspicious transaction report by itself does not establish that money laundering or another illegal activity occurred, and that his testimony was limited to the documents covered by the subpoena.
Senator-Judge Erwin T. Tulfo asked how the court should determine whether funds involving Ms. Duterte and her husband were legitimate or illegal.
“I submit to the honorable court to determine [whether Ms. Duterte's records show wrongdoing] based on what I understand of the ongoing case,” Mr. Buenaventura said. “Regarding its formulation or the like, it is up to the honorable court to appreciate the matter.”
Senator-Judge Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV questioned the prosecution's purpose in presenting Mr. Buenaventura, noting that the amount of money in the Vice-President's bank accounts remained unclear.
Prosecution lawyer Mae S. Divinagracia said prosecutors would seek to connect Mr. Buenaventura's information with testimony from 13 subpoenaed bank officials. How the AMLC follows up on the ownership linkages, and how prosecutors tie the remittance records to the bank officials' testimony, now frame the next stages of the trial.
This article was originally published by BusinessWorld.
