VP Duterte defense witness says young players deserve free shoes

MANILA, Philippines — The young basketball players and their guardians “deserve” the free shoes they received from Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, a defense witness told the Senate impeachment court on Thursday.

Chadrin Parian, a parent of one of the players in Elite Philippines — the youth basketball team where Carpio serves as a manager and “co-parent” — made the remark during cross-examination by private prosecutor Reynaldo Robles.

READ: Duterte impeachment: Witness shows Carpio buying shoes for youth team

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Parian was presented by the defense to clarify the matters surrounding the P256,882 purchase of shoes at a Nike store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as earlier flagged by prosecution’s expert witness, Atty. Alexander Cabrera.

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Robles, citing the law, noted that public officials should “avoid ostentatious display of wealth in any form” before asking the witness if Carpio’s purchase “is an example of simple living.”

“I think the children and their parents deserve it … ” Parian said in Filipino.

According to Parian, the basketball team won the competition in Malaysia, prompting Carpio to treat the team members and their families to buy shoes. 

Parian showed pictures of Carpio paying for the items, as well as the piles of boxes of Nike shoes.

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Parian said there were 11 team members who received shoes, but Robles noted that there were 24 boxes of Nike shoes in the picture. 

In the redirect by Duterte’s counsel Justine Gular, Parian was made to clarify that Carpio also bought shoes for the players’ guardians and parents.

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“Not everyone, how can I say this in a nice way, not everyone has the capability, or capacity to buy shoes,” Parian said in response when asked about the circumstances about Carpio’s purchase. /jpv