By Wilnard Bacelonia
MANILA – Cale88 Foods Corporation, a banana-chip exporter linked to Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, reported substantial business transactions despite having no recorded raw material inventory, raising further questions over the movement of funds through the company, a forensic expert told the Senate impeachment court on Monday.
During questioning by Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo, forensic expert Alexander Cabrera said Cale88’s financial statements showed no inventories of raw materials or work in progress, accounts receivable or accounts payable, despite reporting millions of pesos in revenues.
“Marami po talagang wala po sa tamang hulog po sa financial statement na ‘yun (There are really many things that do not add up in those financial statements),” Cabrera said.
He said the company also maintained unusually small property, plant and equipment accounts despite reporting substantial transactions and continuing to incur losses.
Cabrera compared Cale88 with five or six other exporting companies generating around PHP200 million in annual revenues and found significant differences in their operating structures.
Unlike Cale88, the comparable exporters maintained substantial production equipment, buildings, inventories, receivables and payables, reflecting the normal requirements of manufacturing and exporting goods.
He also found no disclosure of tolling or manufacturing arrangements that could explain whether Cale88 outsourced its production.
*Rapid fund movements*
Beyond the absence of production-related assets, Cabrera raised concerns over the rapid movement of money through Cale88’s accounts, describing a pattern in which funds entered the company and were transferred out almost immediately.
“So yung nakikita po namin sa Cale88, hindi po tinikling. Tatawagin kong revolving door. Pagpasok po ng pera, lumalabas po (What we see in Cale88 is not check kiting. I would call it a revolving door. Money comes in and then goes out),” he said.
Responding to Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros, Cabrera explained that such transactions could indicate that a company was being used primarily as a temporary channel for moving funds rather than for ordinary commercial activity.
He said transfers made on the same day or the following day, without an apparent corresponding business purpose, were among the warning signs examined in financial investigations.
“Yun naman pong yun eh, sintomas po ‘yun ng money laundering. Again, wala po ito sa report ko at hindi ko po sinasabing may money laundering pong nangyayari dito (That is a symptom of money laundering. Again, this is not in my report, and I am not saying that money laundering is happening here),” Cabrera clarified.
He explained that the pattern could resemble a pass-through arrangement, in which money enters a business account only to be transferred elsewhere without necessarily contributing to its operations.
The expert emphasized that the unusual transactions did not, by themselves, establish money laundering.
Earlier testimony showed that Cale88 reported PHP150.76 million in sales in 2024 despite declaring no employees that year and only two in 2025. The company also recorded a PHP6.13-million loss in 2024.
Tulfo, meanwhile, questioned whether Cale88’s reported banana-chip exports to countries including Kazakhstan, Lithuania and Tajikistan corresponded to actual shipments.
He suggested comparing the company’s export declarations with Bureau of Customs records to determine whether the volume and value of goods shipped matched the funds received.
House prosecutor Chel Diokno acknowledged that the prosecution had not obtained the relevant customs records, saying the matter warranted further investigation. (PNA)
QUESTIONABLE EXPORTS. Forensic expert Alexander Cabrera tells the Senate impeachment court on Monday (Oct. 12, 2026) that Cale88 Foods Corporation, a banana-chip exporter linked to Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, reported millions of pesos in business transactions despite having no recorded raw material inventory, accounts receivable or accounts payable. Cabrera also flagged a pattern of rapid fund movements through the company’s accounts, describing it as a possible indicator of money laundering while clarifying that he was not alleging such an offense had occurred.
