Prosecution notes discrepancies in testimony on VP Duterte’s properties

MANILA, Philippines — The testimonies of the witnesses presented by the defense lawyers of Vice President Sara Duterte showed discrepancies that suggest that certain properties were not declared in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALNs).

Former Rep. Ace Barbers, House prosecution adviser and spokesperson, pointed this out on Tuesday.

He noted that two city assessors presented by the defense panel as its first witnesses failed to disprove any of the evidence presented by the prosecution regarding the undeclared properties of the vice president and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

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READ:Property values basis VP Duterte SALN declaration

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“What we say this morning are witnesses presented by the defense panel, and what I can say is that they were consistent — consistent on the point that they had demolished the evidence and testimony of the witnesses from the prosecution,” Barbers said in Filipino.

In his testimony before the Senate impeachment court, engineer John Kenneth Enumerables, the city assessor of the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao, admitted that he could not be certain that the property listed by the vice president in her SALN under his jurisdiction was the same as what they have in their records.

Barbers noted how the counsel for the prosecution, Benjamin Tolosa Jr., was able to show discrepancies in the details of the property listed in the vice president’s SALN and the records held by the Samal assessor’s office.

First, Barbers noted that the acquisition dates were different, as the vice president declared that the property was acquired in 2013 while the deed of absolute sale showed it was in 2018.

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He also pointed out the acquisition cost: Duterte’s SALN showed it was purchased at P4.041 million, while the deed of absolute sale listed P3.453 million.

Barbers noted a third discrepancy — the property location: The vice president’s SALN showed it was situated in Barangay Matanos, while the city assessor’s records showed it was in Barangay San Isidro.

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“So these glaring discrepancies led to the conclusion of the prosecution that the properties [referred to] were different and not declared in the SALN,” Barbers said. 

“The vice president really has assets or properties that were not fully disclosed, which is a violation of the SALN law and therefore, an impeachable offense,” he added.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, who also serves as a prosecution spokesperson, said that the discrepancies found were not simple errors.

READ: Davao assessor yet to submit list of Duterte-Carpio properties – court

Citing the testimony of the defense panel’s first witness, engineer Jaime Adalin, Alonto Adiong pointed out that the P10 million acquisition cost of the Barangay 74-A property listed by the vice president in her SALN was far from the P6 million listed in the official records of the city assessor’s office of Davao.

“That’s not a simple discrepancy. That’s a big amount — P6 million versus P10 million. Even a kindergartener will see the difference,” Alonto Adiong said. 

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“So these are indicators that would lead us to believe our position is that the one that was declared in her SALN is not the one that the defense was trying to claim and prove to the court that that is one and the same,” he added. /atm