Cale88, banana chips firm, has no inventory despite 100M+ cash flows — analyst

Lawyer and financial analyst Alexander Cabrera was cross examined by the Defense regarding his report and testimony on the financial, property and corporate records relating to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio on Oct. 12, 2026.

Senate of the Philippines / Wendell Alinea

MANILA, Philippines — A banana chip exporter linked to Vice President Sara Duterte's husband reported that it had no raw materials in stock and owed no money to buyers, even as large sums moved in and out of its accounts, the prosecution's financial expert witness told the Senate impeachment court on Monday. 

Lawyer Alexander Cabrera, the forensic financial analyst presented as the House prosecution's last witness for its evidence-in-chief, flagged Cale88 Foods Corp. for being a "revolving door," when Sen. Raffy Tulfo asked whether he had examined the company's payables and receivables.

"Pagpasok po ng pera, lumalabas po," Cabrera said on Day 38 of Duterte's trial. (When the money comes in, it goes out.)

Manases Carpio held a 47.5% stake in Cale88 from 2021 to 2024, according to the company's general information sheet. 

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records presented at the trial also show Cale88 received P319.33 million in remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong. 

This is a finding that has since drawn a reaction from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who said that if Duterte was proven to have received funds from China, it "now rises to a national security issue." 

Much of Cale88's financial statements appear out of place, Cabrera said. 

The company listed no payables and no receivables, odd for a supposed manufacturer or exporter of manufactured goods, Cabrera said.

"Manufacturer siya o exporter siya ng manufactured goods [pero] wala siyang inventory ng raw materials or work in process," Cabrera said.

Its property, plant and equipment were also small, Cabrera said. If Cale88 had other firms make its products, its notes did not say so given they disclosed no toll manufacturing arrangement.

"Kahit po gaano kalaki 'yung perang pumapasok at lumalabas, nananatili po siyang lugi," Cabrera said. (No matter how much money comes in and goes out, it remains at a loss.)

Why is this a red flag? Cabrera explained that an exporter with no receivables would have to be paid in cash each time its goods were delivered abroad. A company with no payables would have to pay suppliers in cash on delivery of every large order.

Tulfo also pressed on whether Cale88 actually shipped any goods or products. 

He said he had checked with the Bureau of Customs whether the company had documents covering shipments to the countries he had cited.

Cabrera said he had put the same question to the prosecution but did not follow up on the answer. He, too, wanted to know whether real inventory was going out, he said.

Bureau of Customs export records show that Cale88 shipped banana chips to 13 Chinese companies from 2023 to 2026, totaling approximately P217.3 million in customs value.

AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that the company was the subject of three suspicious transaction reports on remittances that had no apparent legal, trade or economic basis.

Carpio's name was dropped off Cale88's general information sheet in 2025, replaced by Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corp. But the BIR told the court it had no record of any transfer of Cale88 shares.