House Justice Committee Chairperson Gerville “Jinky” Luistro on Wednesday criticized the complaint filed by Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Atty. Mans Carpio, who accused several lawmakers and officials of alleged violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, bank secrecy laws, and the Data Privacy Act in connection with earlier committee hearings.

During her opening statement, Luistro challenged the camp and allies of Vice President Sara Duterte to continue filing complaints against lawmakers and government financial regulators, saying the committee is prepared to face all legal actions while standing by the legality of its proceedings.

Luistro issued the statement after the Vice President's husband, Atty. Mans Carpio, filed a complaint before a city prosecutor’s office involving members of the House panel and officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) over the disclosure of their bank records during the panel’s earlier hearing.

She said the committee had not yet received an official copy of the complaint, but was ready to respond once it did.

“May bagong reklamo na naman daw na inihain sa Office of the City of Prosecutor. Bagama’t wala pa tayong natatanggap na opisyal na kopya ng nasabing reklamo let me say this, handa tayong harapin ito,” Luistro said.

She stressed that the dispute appears to focus not on the contents of the AMLC reports but on the issuance of subpoenas and the process of obtaining financial documents.

“Pero pansinin natin kung totoo ang mga ulat ang tinutumbok ng reklamo ay nag subpoena natin at ang proseso ng paglabas ng AMLC report, hindi ang nilalaman ng AMLC report. Klaro, hindi itinatanggi ang mga bilyones na nabanggit sa AMLC report," Luistro said.

“Tila inaamin na may bilyon-bilyon talagang tinatago at ang tanging reklamo lamang ay: bakit ninyo kami binulabog?” she added.

Luistro also said that filing multiple complaints would not change what she described as a basic constitutional principle of accountability. She emphasized that public officials remain accountable to the people at all times.

“Magreklamo na sila hangga’t gusto nila. Ngunit hindi nito mababago ang isang simpleng katotohanan,” she said.

She added, “Ang Konstitusyon ang may pinakamataas na batas at ayon sa Konstitusyon lahat ng opisyal ay dapat may pananagutan sa taumbayan sa lahat ng oras. Anumang limitasyon na nilikha ng ordinaryong batas, kasama na ang Bank Secrecy Law, ay hindi maaaring manaig laban sa mandato ng Konstitusyon para sa public accountability.”

She further argued that the country’s bank secrecy law was never intended to protect unexplained wealth or shield suspicious financial transactions from scrutiny.

The House Justice Committee, she said, is authorized to issue subpoenas and may request reports from the AMLC, particularly in impeachment-related proceedings.

Meanwhile, several petitions have been filed by Vice President Sara Duterte and her allies challenging the legality of the House proceedings.

On Monday, April 27, Carpio filed a case against several members of the House Justice Committee, including Luistro, as well as officials of the AMLC, accusing them of violations in disclosing bank records during impeachment hearings.