Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro urged the Office of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to revisit allegations of undeclared wealth involving Vice President Sara Duterte, saying oversight bodies have the authority to initiate investigations on their own.
In her personal vlog “Batas with Atty. Claire Castro,” the Palace official discussed earlier accusations made in 2016 regarding purported bank transactions allegedly linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte and the vice president.
She said previous officials acknowledged that AMLC had transmitted bank transaction records to the Ombudsman as part of earlier inquiries.
Castro questioned why, in her view, no comparable action was taken on more recent issues involving confidential funds linked to the vice president.
“AMLC and the Ombudsman can investigate motu proprio when there are issues like alleged undeclared wealth,” Castro said.
She asked whether the alleged bank accounts mentioned in earlier reports were declared in the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and if these accounts remained active.
Castro also referred to complaints reportedly filed by civil society groups involving the vice president and called on the Ombudsman to clarify the status of any investigation.
She stressed that her discussion referred to allegations already publicly reported and said the matter should be addressed by competent authorities.
