Dismissing the defense's claim that the prosecution's bid amounted to a "fishing expedition," House Prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Saturday defended the prosecution's bid to subpoena the bank, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases "Mans" Carpio.

“Ang totoo po, wala pong fishing expedition kung balyena ang nahanap,” Ridon said during a news Forum.

Duterte’s defense team repeatedly argued that the prosecution was improperly seeking evidence before establishing the allegations against the Vice President.

Defense lawyer Michael Poa earlier described the prosecution’s motions for subpoenas duces tecum as a "mere fishing expedition."

Ridon, however, stressed that the records being sought involve transactions amounting to billions of pesos over two decades.

“Kasi ang pinag-uusapan naman natin nito hindi po barya-baryang pera. Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito P6.7 billion in total transactions over the course of 20 years over,” he said.

He added that around P4.4 billion in inflows were recorded in the bank accounts of the Duterte-Carpio couple during the same period.

“Malalaki po ang pera natin na hindi ho maimagine ng ating mga kababayan kung paano po ito nangyari,” Ridon said.

The House prosecutor expressed confidence that the prosecution would be able to convince the Supreme Court (SC) that there are sufficient legal grounds to compel the release of the requested financial and tax documents.

Watch the full video below.