Witness corrects Duterte lawyer: No mention of ‘alleged’ in my report

MANILA, Philippines — Prosecution witness and financial forensic analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera has corrected the defense lawyer on deck after the latter used the word “alleged” while claiming to be reading his report on Vice President Sara Duterte’s business interest, saying these remarks are not in the document.

During the resumption of Duterte’s impeachment trial on Monday, Cabrera was being quizzed by counsel for the respondent Kristine Ferrer regarding the companies that his report financial focused on as the vice president’s business interests.

READ: From Donki to Nike: Analyst says VP had ‘unusual’ purchases in 2025

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When Cabrera said that Ferrer forgot to include Metro City Chow Foods Corporation as a company — as she only mentioned Gencorp Industries Inc. and CALE88 Foods Corporation — the defense lawyer said that these are “alleged” business interests.

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“Alleged interest in businesses.  Now I’m just reading your report sir, so yeah, alleged interest in businesses.  In computing—,” Ferrer said.

“Wala pong nakalagay na alleged sa report ko po (There was no mention of alleged in my report,” Cabrera countered.

When Ferrer said that it is the defense’s position that the matters stated in the financial report were mere allegations, Cabrera reminded her that Ferrer initially claimed that she was reading his report.

“Ah, that’s our position,” Ferrer said.

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“Sabi niyo po you’re reading my report po eh (But you said you were reading my report),” Cabrera replied.

“Hindi, kanina po,” Ferrer clarified.

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 This was not the last time that Cabrera corrected Ferrer for using the word “alleged” or “supposed.”  Later on Ferrer claimed that Cabrera’s report concluded that there was a “supposed fraud” because he did not treat the companies as separate juridical entities apart from the vice president.

However, Cabrera said that it cannot be treated as “supposed fraud” because he considers it non-reporting, and because he has witnesses to back up his financial report.

“Based on your own assessment there was an alleged or supposed fraud that were perpetrated by the respondent using the separate juridical entities, sir that’s why you pierced the veil of corporate fiction,” Ferrer said.

“Hindi po siya supposed fraud, non-reporting po siya (It’s not supposed fraud, it’s non-reporting),” Cabrera replied.

“In your case that is your findings, that is your opinion,” Ferrer snapped back.

“Hindi po, meron po akong testigo eh (No, because I have a witness),” Cabrera added.

The prosecution first called Cabrera to the witness stand on Friday, to testify on the report he provided to the panel about Duterte’s financial transactions.

At one point Cabrera said that Duterte had an “unusual banking behavior” in 2025 which included a meal at Ginza Inakaya Tokyo in Japan worth P200,007.29 with a transaction date of March 19, 2025; two transactions on December 27, 2025 with the Nike store at a Davao City mall worth P93,750.00 and P205,392.00; and another Nike store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, worth P256,882.50.

Cabrera did not mention Duterte’s other unusual banking activities, but his Table 25 showed that she had gone shopping at two MEGA Don Quijote outlets in Japan.

Don Quijote is a discount store chain that started in Japan offering a variety of items — from Japanese-made toiletries, toys, gadgets, souvenirs, and even food products.

Two transactions referred to a Don Quijote in Shibuya, one of the main business and entertainment hotspots in Tokyo — with one worth P62,900.95 and the other being P65,877.64.

Both transactions occurred on December 8, 2025.

The other Don Quijote outlet that Duterte transacted with is in Aichi prefecture, specifically in Naka-ward.  The transaction was on July 20, 2025 was worth P111,109.24

The total for all of Duterte’s unusual banking behavior listed in the exhibit was at P239,887.83.

Also, Cabrera claimed Duterte did not declare the following cash amounts as part of her assets from 2022 to 2025:

• P60,214,776 for 2022
• P80,701,151 for 2023
• P23,169,077 for 2024
• P43,611,929 for 2025

Cabrera did not provide a total for the four figures, but a quick math would show that the sum is at P207,696,933.

READ: Analyst: VP Duterte didn’t declare P207-M cash, total assets reach P817M 

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Another table presented by Cabrera showed that the total undeclared amount from 2022 to 2025 was at P817,874,867.  According to the witness, they were able to arrive at this number by matching the declared cash assets in Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and the year-end balances of the bank accounts under Duterte, Carpio, and their joint bank accounts. /jpv