MANILA — Banks do not file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) based solely on negative media reports or gossip, with flagged transactions subjected to further scrutiny before they are reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), a Metrobank official told the Senate impeachment court Wednesday.
Metrobank Anti-Money Laundering Division Head Atty. Niña Aguilar said adverse media reports may prompt the bank to examine a customer and his or her transactions, but an STR is filed only after an internal review and approval process.
“For suspicious transaction reporting based on negative media, we generally file a suspicious transaction report if we have identified our customer as the subject of negative media and conduct further review on the transactions,” Aguilar said.
Aguilar made the clarification during questioning by senator-judges Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan as the impeachment court examined how banks determine which transactions warrant reporting to the AMLC.
She said STRs undergo internal procedures, including review by the bank’s anti-money laundering division and her approval, before they are forwarded to the AMLC.
The testimony came as the impeachment court continued scrutinizing financial records involving Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, and their children.
AMLC officials earlier presented covered and suspicious transaction reports involving Duterte-Carpio and her husband as part of the proceedings. Some remarks accompanying the reports cited news reports in flagging transactions as potentially connected to alleged malversation.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano questioned whether reliance on media reports without an independent examination could amount to merely circulating unverified information.
Pangilinan pressed Aguilar on whether Metrobank carefully examines transactions before filing an STR to prevent reports from being generated merely because of erroneous information, insufficient basis or a news report.
“So binubusisi niyo nang husto dahil you’re careful na hindi rin tama na mag-file ng STR kung mali, o dahil walang basis o dahil news report lang?” Pangilinan asked.
Aguilar agreed.
Pangilinan then sought confirmation that gossip by itself would not be sufficient basis for an STR.
“So hindi lang base sa tsismis?”
“Yes, your honor,” Aguilar replied.
Aguilar’s testimony underscored the distinction between information that may trigger closer scrutiny by a bank and the subsequent decision to formally report a transaction as suspicious.
The testimony came on the 35th day of Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial, during which representatives of banks and financial institutions were called to testify on financial records subpoenaed by the impeachment court.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura earlier testified that the council received reports covering about P4.4 billion in covered and suspicious transactions involving Duterte-Carpio and Carpio from 2007 to 2025.
An STR, however, is a report of a transaction flagged for circumstances warranting further examination and does not by itself establish that a crime was committed./PN
