Luistro presses Mans Carpio to testify on assets shared with VP

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution is wondering who will explain the financial records and disputed assets of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, considering that the latter is not in the initial witness list of the defense.

Rep. Gerville Luisto, the lead prosecutor, pointed this out on Sunday in an interview with Nimfa Ravelo and Isa Avendaño Umali over AM radio station DZBB’s “Bantay Balita sa Kongreso.”

She said she was interested in hearing directly from Carpio about the defense’s contention that certain properties and financial information belonging to him should be treated separately from the vice president’s assets.

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READ: Barbers: No BIR record proving Mans Carpio sold Cale88 shares “But as we can see, he’s not in the initial list of witnesses. So what we can only do is to wait and see if, on the later trial days, they will call on the husband of the respondent vice president in the person of Atty. Mans Carpio,” Luistro said. She pointed out that Carpio could explain firsthand the financial transactions, bank accounts, and other assets examined by the prosecution as part of its case against Duterte. “It will be significant also to hear the testimony of Attorney Mans Carpio because they claim they cannot disclose the part that belongs to Attorney Mans Carpio,” Luistro stressed. The Senate impeachment court previously allowed the examination of Carpio’s financial records after considering the legal implications of his marriage to Duterte, including the presumed application of the absolute community of property regime under the Family Code. “And the prosecution has an answer to that: In the absence of a prenuptial agreement, there is a presumption of absolute community property,” Luistro said. A prosecution statement explained that, under the Family Code, the absolute community of property regime generally applies to couples married without a valid agreement establishing a different property arrangement, though certain assets may remain excluded depending on their origin and the applicable legal exceptions. “And it only means one thing: What the wife owns the husband also owns, in the same way that what the husband owns the wife also owns,” Luistro said.

READ: Davao land assessor: Carpio’s Matina property listed in Duterte’s SALN The prosecution’s forensic accounting analysis identified approximately P817.87 million in allegedly undeclared assets and unexplained wealth involving Duterte and Carpio, with the computation drawing from financial records, insurance policies, investments and other properties associated with the couple. The defense’s initial witness list includes lawyer Anel Martin Antero, who prosecutors understand might have assisted Carpio in preparing financial documents, although the nature of his anticipated testimony remains subject to clarification during the proceedings.  The House prosecution is expected to examine whether testimony from Carpio’s legal representative can adequately address the financial records questioned during the trial, particularly where the disputed transactions involve matters within the couple’s personal knowledge. /atm