Financial forensic analyst Alexander Cabrera on Monday said that the financial statement of Cale88, a banana chip manufacturing company linked to lawyer Manases Caprio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, is questionable as it did not list detailed financial transactions.
During the 38th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo asked Cabrera the results of his examination on the financial statement of Cale88.
“Yung sa financial statements po kasi ng Cale88, marami talagang wala po sa tamang hulog sa financial statement nay un. Wala po siyang payable, wala po siyang receivable, manufacturer siya o exporter siya ng manufactured goods, wala po siyang inventory ng raw materials or work in progress,” Cabrera said.
“At kahit po gaano kalaki yung perang pumapasok at lumalabas, nananatili po siyang lugi,” Cabrera also said.
Cabrera said his team made a comparison of Cale88 to five or six other companies engaged in similar business earning around P200 million annually to determine what’s wrong.
Cabrera noted that the companies in comparison have big properties like land and buildings, while Cale88 has none. Cabrera also said that the companies have big inventory of raw materials which Cale88 did not have.
“Kaya po nasabi namin na talaga pong pagka gumamit po kayo ng …comparable transactions, doon niyo makikita…at comparable po itong mga companies na ito kasi po pareho po ng negosyo, at exporter po. Kaya doon niyo po makikita na kakaiba po yung Cale88,” Cabrera said.
“Yung kanilang cost of sales, parang meron silang tina-target na cost of sales para hindi po masyadong malaki yung income nila,” Cabrera also said.
Cabrera described Cale88 as a “revolving door” where money comes in and out quickly.
“Yung nakakaduda po talaga doon, exporter ka, para mangyari na wala kang receivables eh pag landing ng goods mo doon, nakakatanggap ka ng cash… So, yung nakita po namin sa Cale88, hindi po ‘tinikling’, tatawagin kong revolving door. Pagpasok po ng pera, lumalabas po. Marami pong pera ang pasok at labas,” Cabrera also said.
Tulfo then asked if Cabrera checked with the Bureau of Customs the export transactions of Cale88, to which Cabrera said he asked that to the prosecution but was not able to follow up on the answer.
Prosecutor Rep. Manuel “Chel” Diokno said that they were not able to pursue that with the BoC for lack of material time.
“Wala na po kaming oras na tignan po yan. That’s really something that I think should be further investigated. Pero hiindi na po namin nakuha ang datos na iyon,” Diokno said.
Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros asked Cabrera of their method of computation used to determine that Duterte had an undeclared wealth of more than P817.8 million in her 2022 to 2025 Statement of Assets Liabilities and Net worth.
Cabrera said his team used a multi-person review process which he described as “six-eyes” review. Cabrera also said they used software-assisted comparisons of financial records, cross-checking of local and foreign bank accounts to distinguish separate accounts, and conservative assumptions when duplication cannot be ruled out.
“So, in case of doubt po, at the risk of making an error, in case of doubt, hindi po namin isasama kasi po baka ma-doble, sumobra po yung estimate namin,” Cabrera said.
“Sabi ko nga po sa aking maliit na team, di baleng kulangin, wag lang sumobra. Parang ganon po yung lahgi naming ginagawa,” Cabrera also said.
Cabrera said they also verified cash balances across the four-year period to distinguish newly accumulated money from balances which were carried over from past years.
Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid asked the prosecution panel what the public should understand from the financial records of Duterte presented in the impeachment court.
Rep. Manuel “Chel” Diokno said that officials can easily project living a simple life, but their financial records can show otherwise.
“Ngayon, madali po kasing magpanggap ang isang opisyal na simpleng tao lang siya — kumakain sa karinderya, malinis, wala namang tinatago sa SALN. Pero pagdating po sa issue ng Article II, unexplained wealth, doon po tayo nagkaka-alaman,” Diokno said.
Lapid asked the question following last week’s testimony on the P817.87 million in alleged undeclared assets and unexplained wealth attributed to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
“Sa simpleng tanong po, may pananaw ba kayo ng prosekyusyon? Ano dapat mapansin, makuha, at maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan mula sa mapakaraming witness at dokumento na ipinakita ninyo sa amin?” Lapid said.
Diokno said the main issue under Article II was straightforward as it showed hard evidence from banks and the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Ang titignan po dito ay hindi naman ang mga testigo, kundi mismong yung dokumento at yung mga numero… Ito po mga bank documents, for example, ay hindi naman po dumaan sa kamay ng prosecution yan. Yan at diniretso ng mga banko dito sa mismong hukumang ito. Kaya masasabi natin na they are independent facts, verifiable by anybody,” Diokno said.
“This case is really not about VP Sara Duterte as a person. To me, it’s about the trust that the people reposed in her…It’s really not about her as a person. It’s about leadership — kung tama ba ang pamamahala at lalong lalo na yung katapatan o yung fitness ng isang mataas na opisyal na manungkulan,” Diokno also said.