‘VP, husband had at least P1.5 billion unexplained wealth’

National Bureau of Investigation agents, led by NBI Director Mel- vin Matibag, carry boxes containing the bureau’s findings on the Duterte family, at the NBI office in Manila.

Mark Ernest Villeza

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio had unexplained wealth amounting to at least P1.5 billion based on voluminous bank, tax and other government records, an expert financial forensic analyst revealed Monday.

Accountant-lawyer Alexander Cabrera made this estimate upon Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero’s query, as the prosecution presented its case on Article II or unexplained wealth.

“That is less than P1.6 billion, around P1.5 billion,” he told the court, adding that this was based on records and documents they have culled for three years, or from 2022 when Duterte was elected Vice President, until 2025, as per their verification.

The amount is nearly double the P817.87 million identified in Cabrera’s original forensic report.

Escudero asked Cabrera about his “ceiling” or “maximum” in terms of his assessment on all the records provided to him by public and private prosecutors.

The presiding officer also sought confirmation that the figure covered the four-year period without counting the same amounts twice.

“Yes. The amount per year differs. If you total it, that will be the ceiling,” Cabrera replied, referring to the P1.5 billion.

The expert witness likewise explained that his original findings were based on a conservative examination of financial records involving Duterte and her husband.

Cabrera cited P475 million in confidential funds that he had excluded, around P100 million in additional financial discrepancies and potentially higher amounts involving GenCorp Industries Inc., a company linked to the couple.

Escudero also examined how much of the original findings would remain if amounts attributed to three companies were excluded. He calculated that GenCorp accounted for P212.63 million, while Cale88 Foods Corp. and Metro City Chow Foods Corp. accounted for another P142.20 million.

Excluding all three companies would still leave P463.05 million in alleged unexplained wealth based on other financial records, including bank accounts and insurance policies – a computation Cabrera agreed with.

The expert also defended his decision to look beyond the companies’ separate legal identities, citing suspected tax fraud as the basis for attributing certain transactions to their shareholders.

He maintained that financial interests and amounts owed to Carpio should have been disclosed in the couple’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth. However, Cabrera acknowledged that applicable liabilities, including unpaid taxes, would have to be deducted in determining the final amount.