The National Security Council (NSC) will look into information presented during the impeachment proceedings concerning reported financial inflows from China to a Philippine-based company associated with the family of Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a statement issued Tuesday, October 6, National Security Adviser Eduardo SL Oban Jr. said the NSC is taking the information seriously, particularly amid questions over the national security implications of the reported transactions.
“The NSC will look into the information presented,” Oban said.
Oban said that while the impeachment proceedings remain ongoing and the information must still be properly examined through established legal processes, any credible information involving significant foreign financial flows that may affect national security warrants a “careful, in-depth, and responsible assessment.”
“The National Security Council takes seriously the information presented during the impeachment proceedings regarding reported financial inflows from China into a Philippine-based company associated with the family of Vice President Sara Duterte,” Oban said.
The NSC chief added that the agency will continue to task intelligence and investigative agencies to examine the matter and coordinate with relevant government institutions.
“The NSC will look into the information presented and, as a matter of policy, continue to task the intelligence and investigative agencies and coordinate with relevant government institutions to assess the national security implications, if any, arising from the reported transactions,” he said.
The statement came after the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) disclosed during Day 33 of Duterte’s impeachment trial that Cale88 Foods Corporation, a company linked to her husband, Manases Carpio, received a total of P319.33 million in inward remittances from China and Hong Kong.
The AMLC said P315.93 million came from mainland China while P3.39 million came from Hong Kong. Three of the transactions were reported as suspicious, with the AMLC witness saying there was “no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification.”
The reported China-linked transactions are being examined alongside a broader AMLC financial trail involving Duterte and Carpio. AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that their accounts contained P4.4 billion in covered and suspicious transactions, including P1.63 billion in inflows and P1.3 billion in outflows.
The NSC emphasized, however, that the information remains subject to proper examination and did not make a finding of wrongdoing.
“The proceedings remain ongoing,” Oban said, stressing that the reported transactions and other credible information must be assessed through established legal processes before conclusions are reached.
The development also follows the Chinese Embassy's rejection of allegations that China funneled funds to a Philippine political faction, calling the claims a “false narrative” and “malicious.”
