Prosecution, defense clash over whether Duterte declared spouse’s 2 properties in SALN - Rappler

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COUPLE. Sara Duterte with her husband Manases "Mans" Carpio

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband Mans Carpio purchased two properties that cannot be found in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), the prosecution argued on Thursday, October 1.

Prosecutor Keith Flores handled the direct examination of two witnesses from the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to confirm the multi-million-peso properties in Davao Region sold to Carpio.

Davao City Register of Deeds IV Kathy Florence Baldonado said a lot in Matina, Davao City was sold to Carpio for P6 million in July 2024. 

City of Samal Deputy Register of Deeds III Marco Pineda said Carpio also bought a property on the island for P3 million in 2018. 

Both properties do not correspond to any entries in the Vice President’s SALN.

The prosecution wants Duterte removed from office for betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution in connection with her alleged unexplained wealth.

“We clearly mentioned in Article 2… that one of the allegations is that the Vice President failed to disclose in her SALNs all of her properties. And that’s impossible for us to have known of this property simply because it’s not disclosed in the SALN,” Flores said.

Defense lawyer Lindon Bacquel, however, claimed that the Matina property was declared in the SALN, listed as a residential lot in Barangay 74-A with an acquisition cost of P10 million and assessed value of P82,046.

“Don’t they usually put a lower amount to avoid paying taxes? Right?” Flores asked Baldonado, prompting the defense to object as it saw it as being speculative.

Bacquel also said the Samal property referred to by the prosecution is listed in the 2019 SALN as a residential lot in Barangay Matanos, Kaputian District, IGACOS. The property was supposedly sold in 2013, had an acquisition cost of P4.04 million, and assessed value of P52,500.

Flores, however, said the acquisition cost and date for that entry in Duterte’s SALN do not match the transfer certificate of title for the Samal property.

“They declared that the property was bought in 2013 yet the actual deed of sale was made in 2018, five years after. What is the penalty for perjury?” Flores said, but was cut off when Bacquel objected to the line of questioning. – Rappler.com