MANILA – The House prosecution’s forensic accounting expert on Monday maintained that his examination of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth was based on available financial records, as the defense questioned the completeness of the bank documents used in his report.
Lawyer Alexander Cabrera, chairman emeritus of Isla Lipana & Co. (PwC Philippines), said his team reviewed bank balances, examined cash inflows and excluded transactions that should not be counted in determining the alleged discrepancies.
“Ang in-examine po namin ay ano po ’yung inflows, tapos ano po ’yung mga dapat tanggalin po doon sa inflows (What we examined are the inflows, and then what needs to be removed from those inflows),” Cabrera testified during cross-examination by defense counsel Kristine Ferrer on Day 38 of Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Ferrer questioned whether Cabrera had examined every bank transaction involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
“As much as we can po, pero very limited po ’yung time (but the time was very limited). Pero (But), as much as we can, we did what we could with the bank accounts,” Cabrera replied.
He explained that his examination was necessarily limited to documents made available to the prosecution.
The defense also questioned the absence of complete Know Your Customer (KYC) records for all bank accounts covered by the report.
Cabrera acknowledged that his team received KYC documents for some, but not all banks.
He also confirmed that he did not independently send account confirmation letters to banks because he had no authorization from the account holders.
However, Cabrera pointed out that bank representatives had already testified before the Senate impeachment court.
“Nag-testify naman po ’yung mga taga-bangko po dito (The bank representatives have testified here),” he said.
Ferrer also questioned Cabrera’s computation of allegedly undeclared cash, which compared year-end bank balances with the cash disclosed in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
Cabrera confirmed that the cash figure was treated as zero because no cash amount was separately specified in the SALNs.
Asked whether the money could have been included under another SALN category, Cabrera acknowledged the possibility but said no such disclosure was indicated.
“Naisip ko po, possible po ganun, pero wala pong nakalagay po (I thought about it, and it’s possible, but there was nothing there),” he said.
The defense next took him through four account categories in his report.
Cabrera’s Table 1, presented before the Senate impeachment trial, covered accounts attributed to Duterte. Table 2 covered those attributed to her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio. Table 3 covered their joint accounts, while Table 4 covered 888 Bistro, Carpio’s sole proprietorship.
Ferrer asked about the absence of separate columns naming account holders.
“Nakalagay lang po yung account number, po (Only the account numbers were provided),” he said.
Asked about whether the accounts listed in Table 1 were held individually or with another person, Cabrera maintained that Duterte was the named holder.
“Siya lang po yung nakapangalan po doon (It was only under his name),” he said.
He acknowledged that the table showed account numbers rather than the account holders’ names as they appeared on bank statements.
Ferrer also asked about authority to inquire into any outstanding loans of Duterte and Carpio. Cabrera acknowledged that he had no such authority and had not received copies of any bank loan documents.
That exchange did not identify a particular outstanding loan or establish a different balance for a specific account.
On the absence of separate confirmation letters, Cabrera pointed back to the institutional witnesses already heard by the court: “Tama po. Nag-testify naman po yung mga taga-bank (That’s right. Representatives from the banks have already testified).” (PNA)
FINANCIAL RECORDS. Lawyer Alexander Cabrera testifies before the Senate impeachment court on Monday (Oct. 12, 2026). He maintained that his examination of Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth was based on available financial records. (
