Constitutional obligations, sovereign defense mandates, and foreign financial transaction compliance have drawn intense investigative focus as prosecutors link public accountability standards to cross-border capital flows.
VICE President Sara Z. Duterte’s silence on China’s aggressive activities in the West Philippine Sea amounts to treason, a violation of the Constitution, and a betrayal of public trust.
This was pointed out by Atty. Lorna Kapunan, a counsel for the House prosecution panel.
She told a news briefing that the vice president, in one interview, claimed it was not her job to comment on such activities and that foreign policy statements should come from the president.
“Sa isang interview ang sinabi niya, hindi ko naman papel yan. Ang tungkol sa foreign policy ay papel yan ng isang presidente. Hindi papel yan, wala sa job description ng Vice President ang mag-comment,” Kapunan recalled the vice president as saying.
Kapunan said Filipinos were understandably angered by Chinese aggression in the country’s maritime zones, yet Duterte had remained silent on the matter.
“Eh kung ang taong bayan nagagalit, tayo mismo nagagalit na ang ating exclusive economic zone ay pinapasukan ng Chinese-owned vessels, tayo mismo, taong bayan, tapos siya ay quiet?” Kapunan asked.
“Ang tawag po doon ay treason, violation ng Constitution, violation ng Articles of Impeachment natin, betrayal of public trust,” Kapunan also said.
She said Duterte’s supporters might be happy that they would no longer have to apply for a Chinese visa if the country becomes part of Chinese territory in 2028, when the next presidential elections would be held.
“Siguro maraming DDS na happy kasi di na sila kailangan kumuha ng visa sa China kung Chinese territory na tayo sa 2028,” Kapunan also added.
The vice president and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, are under scrutiny over financial transactions involving Cale88 Foods Corp., a company in which Carpio previously held a 47.5 percent ownership stake.
Records presented by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) before the Senate impeachment court showed that Cale88 recorded P776.64 million in financial inflows from 2022 to 2025, including P319.33 million in inward remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong.
Cale88 was incorporated in 2021, with Carpio among its incorporators, directors and shareholders. It had a paid-up capital of only P125,000.
The AMLC records showed that P315.94 million of the inward remittances came from mainland China, while P3.39 million came from Hong Kong.
During the impeachment proceedings, bank records and testimony also raised questions about transactions involving the company. Certain transactions were flagged as suspicious for reasons including the absence of supporting documents, the lack of an underlying legal or trade obligation or economic justification, and amounts that were not commensurate with the client’s declared financial profile.
The AMLC identified three suspicious transactions involving inward remittances from China and Hong Kong, rather than establishing that all the company’s foreign remittances were suspicious.