Quezon City 4th District Representative Jesus “Bong” Suntay on Thursday described as “hearsay” the testimonies presented by former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV before the House Committee on Justice regarding the alleged ₱2.4 billion reportedly received by the Duterte family from "drug lords."

During an interview on DZRH's Damdaming Bayan, Suntay questioned the evidentiary value of the claims, stressing that such statements should be based on personal knowledge and not secondhand information.

“Under the rules of evidence, eh alam mo mahirap tanggapin ‘yun because those are hearsay dahil hindi naman, yung mga gaonong ebidensya should be based on personal knowledge, yung pagpapasok,” Suntay said.

“Bakit nandun ba si former Senator Trillanes nung nagkabigayan at meron siyang personal knowledge?” he added.

He also raised concerns about the authentication of documents presented during the hearing, emphasizing that private documents must first be verified before being admitted as evidence.

“Any document presented, especially mga private documents na ipinapakita, should first be authenticated,” he said.

The lawmaker added that there was “no chance to authenticate” the materials presented by Trillanes.

Suntay noted that similar issues raised by Trillanes had already surfaced as early as 2016, particularly in relation to allegations against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Those were the same documents issues he raised against former President Rodrigo Duterte way back noong 2016," he said.

The lawmaker further clarified that references to alleged large financial transactions should be properly understood in the context of reports submitted to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), stressing that such reports do not automatically indicate suspicious activity.

He explained that under the law, banks are required to report transactions exceeding ₱500,000, regardless of context.

“Any deposits or withdrawals or any transactions amounting to more than ₱500,000, automatic nire-report sa AMLC yan,” Suntay said.

Suntay said that this does not automatically mean an account or transaction is “suspicious.” He explained that under the law, any transaction exceeding ₱500,000 must be automatically reported by banks.

He added that AMLC records reflect cumulative transactions and not actual cash on hand in an account, warning against misinterpretation of aggregated figures.

Using an example, Suntay said a single asset sold and repurchased multiple times could appear as growing transaction totals in AMLC reports, even if the actual net gain is much smaller.

“'Yung records ng transactions which AMLC, ang records of cumulative yun. Cumulative amount. Ibig sabihin, mga ins and outs na pumapasok sa various account ng isang tao. It doesn't mean may ganun total amount na pera doon sa loob ng account,” he said.