By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte is facing mounting scrutiny over her financial disclosures after House prosecutors presented bank records showing at least 30 accounts belonging to Duterte and her husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio, with year-end balances totaling more than P190 million from 2022 to 2025.
The records from eight banks form a major part of the prosecution’s case alleging unexplained wealth in the impeachment complaint.
Prosecutors said the combined balances reached more than P59 million in 2022, P71 million in 2023, P22 million in 2024 and P35 million in 2025.
While the figures represent separate year-end balances—not money held simultaneously—the prosecution said they raise questions over the amounts declared in Duterte and Carpio’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
For 2022, the couple declared a combined P13.325 million under “other personal properties,” substantially below the more than P59 million in year-end bank balances cited by prosecutors.
The defense has argued that cash could have been included under the SALN’s “other” category and has rejected conclusions that the records alone establish wrongdoing.
The bank revelations followed testimony from the Anti-Money Laundering Council linking Duterte and Carpio to P4.4 billion in covered and suspicious transactions from 2007 to 2025.
With bank officials now testifying, the impeachment battle is narrowing to one explosive question:
Can Duterte and Carpio fully explain the money behind the numbers?
ia/xf
