Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros said Tuesday that research by her office showed links between some Chinese companies involved in transactions with Cale88 Foods Corp. and Chinese state-owned enterprises, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
During the 34th day of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, Hontiveros questioned Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura about whether the AMLC had examined the Chinese companies that sent money to Cale88.
Hontiveros said her office reviewed several companies mentioned in the trial, including China National Township Enterprises, which she said was formerly directly under China's Ministry of Agriculture and later became a state-owned agricultural enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
She also cited Beijing Zhenweifang Food Co., which she said is owned by Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group. Hontiveros said the group's company materials identified it as having a Chinese Communist Party committee and 11 subordinate party branches.
Hontiveros further said the chairman of Beijing Zhenweifang is a member of the district CPPCC.
She cited foreign reports that described the CPPCC as an organization linked to Chinese Communist Party interests and the United Front system.
"So ang tanong ko po, Atty. Buenaventura, yung mga ganitong linkages ba ay tinitingnan ng AMLC?" Hontiveros asked.
Buenaventura said he could not answer the question based on the records covered by the subpoena issued to the AMLC.
"At this point po, yung na-cover po ng subpoena is only on the records," Buenaventura said, apologizing that he could not answer Hontiveros' question.
Hontiveros then asked whether such linkages would be a cause for concern for the AMLC under the circumstances.
Buenaventura said he would need to review the information raised by Hontiveros before commenting.
"Your Honor, I [take] note po, I have to review po yung binanggit niyo po. Hindi ko po nakuha lahat po, Your Honor. But we take note naman po yung nabanggit po ninyo," he said.
Hontiveros' questioning came after the trial heard that 319 million pesos in funds entered Cale88 from China through transactions flagged in covered and suspicious transaction reports. She said one of the red flags was the absence of a legitimate transaction underlying the funds.
Buenaventura earlier said he was unable to answer whether the AMLC had separately investigated the Chinese companies involved in Cale88's transactions, saying the documents submitted to the impeachment court were limited to those covered by the subpoena.
