MANILA — A retired LandBank of the Philippines branch manager testified before the Senate impeachment court on Wednesday that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) regularly withdrew unusually large amounts of cash compared with other government agencies, but stressed that the transactions complied with banking procedures and were never considered suspicious or illegal.
The testimony of former LandBank Shaw Boulevard branch manager Violeta Constantino came on the 10th day of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial as prosecutors presented evidence on Article I of the impeachment complaint, which alleges the misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the OVP and the Department of Education.
Constantino told the impeachment court that the OVP transferred its account to the Shaw Boulevard branch in September 2022 after relocating its office to Mandaluyong City.
Asked by Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo whether other government agencies maintained similar cash withdrawal practices, Constantino replied: “Wala po. Unusual po ito.”
Despite describing the withdrawals as unusual, she emphasized that bank personnel did not question the transactions because all documentary and procedural requirements had been met.
“Kasi po may advise naman po siya. Kumbaga dumaan naman po ito sa proseso nila. Kaya, I don’t think po na magtanong pa kami,” Constantino said.
She also testified that bank officials were never informed that the cash withdrawals were supposedly intended for confidential or intelligence funds.
“Hindi po. Sa personal opinion namin, sa banko. Parang syempre po, ‘Saan kaya gagamitin po ‘yung cash na to?’ Pero hindi naman po namin tinanong na kasi may advice naman po siya,” she said.
According to Constantino, although several government agencies maintained accounts at the branch, none regularly withdrew comparable amounts of cash since most government offices had already shifted to electronic transactions and payroll systems.
During the interpellation, however, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano cautioned against equating unusual banking activity with wrongdoing.
“Just because it’s ‘unusual,’ it doesn’t mean it’s illegal or whatever,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano explained that different government agencies have varying operational requirements, recalling his experience as Foreign Affairs Secretary when the Department of Foreign Affairs had to withdraw tens of millions of pesos to provide emergency assistance to overseas Filipino workers affected by a major storm.
He said LandBank had to coordinate internally because the branch initially did not have enough cash on hand to release the requested amount.
The senator also distinguished government transactions from those of private clients, noting that while banks closely scrutinize unusually large private transactions under “know your customer” rules, government withdrawals are generally processed once all required documents are in order.
“Pero pag government, as long as you’re dealing with the people you identified with… basta’t everything’s in order. Magtataka lang kapag sobrang laki nung amount. But then you’ll release it,” Cayetano said.
Under questioning, Constantino agreed that despite the size of the OVP’s cash withdrawals, they did not violate banking regulations and were never classified as suspicious transactions./PN
