The alleged unexplained wealth of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, could reach P1.6 billion, representing double the figure calculated by the prosecution’s financial forensic expert.
House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers said during the Saturday News Forum that the P817.87 million in allegedly undeclared income and assets identified by Atty. Alexander Cabrera was based on conservative calculations and could be significantly higher.
“I-doble mo na lang. Doblehin mo na lang ‘yung 817 [million pesos], malamang conservative pa ‘yon, no?” Barbers said when asked about potential upper estimates of the couple’s alleged wealth.
Barbers cited earlier testimony from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) detailing around P4.4 billion in covered and suspicious bank transactions involving Duterte and Carpio.
“Kasi if you recall, ‘yung ating witness sa [AMLC], ni-report niya merong 4.4-billion-[pesos] na kabuuang covered and suspicious transactions, ‘di ba?” Barbers said.
“’Yun lamang ‘yung nai-report. Eh ‘yung hindi po nai-report, hindi rin natin alam kung magkano ‘yung kabuuang amount niyan,” Barbers also said.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified Oct. 5 that the P4.4 billion in covered transactions spanned 2007 to 2025, comprising P1.63 billion in inflows, P1.31 billion in outflows, and P1.46 billion unclassified as either.
The AMLC figure reflects total reported transaction volume rather than a formal determination of illegally acquired assets or unexplained wealth.
Cabrera testified Friday that his forensic audit identified P817,874,867 in allegedly undeclared assets and income between 2022 and 2025.
Cabrera stated his analysis utilized conservative accounting rules to eliminate double counting across examined financial records.
Barbers maintained that actual unlisted amounts could far exceed Cabrera’s baseline figures because of unrecorded financial movements.
“So, kung i-estimate natin, conservative estimate, eh doblehin na lang natin ‘yon, ‘yung 817 [million pesos],” Barbers also said.
The P1.6-billion projection represents Barbers’ hypothetical estimate rather than a formal forensic finding submitted to the trial record.
Duterte’s defense panel is scheduled to cross-examine Cabrera on Monday, Oct. 12, as the prosecution panel prepares to conclude its formal presentation of evidence before the Senate impeachment court.