(Screenshot from Senate livestream)
MANILA – House prosecutors on Tuesday questioned alleged inconsistencies in the property records of Vice President Sara Duterte, raising doubts over the defense’s claim that a property in the Island Garden City of Samal had been properly declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said the discrepancies were similar to those identified during Monday’s testimony involving a disputed property in Matina Crossing, Davao City.
The controversy began when the defense presented Davao City Assessor Engr. Jaime Adalin to establish that the Matina Crossing property, registered under Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had been included in the Vice President’s SALN.
Prosecutors maintained that the property was not properly disclosed, while the defense argued that it appeared in the SALN under a different location description.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Tolosa raised similar concerns over another property registered under Carpio’s name in Barangay San Isidro, Kaputian, Island Garden City of Samal.
The property, covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 142-2019013134, has an assessed value of Php 346,960 and a market value of Php 4,956,600.
“This property also, there are glaring discrepancies,” Tolosa told the Senate impeachment court.
“There’s no way that this witness could prove that they are the same properties,” he added.
Tolosa argued that properties located within the same barangay could not automatically be considered identical without sufficient supporting documentation.
“All that he could testify to is, again, at most, they’re in the same barangay,” he said.
The defense presented Island Garden City of Samal Assessor Engr. John Kenneth Enumerables to support its position that the disputed property had been disclosed in Duterte’s SALN.
In introducing the witness, the defense described the prosecution’s allegation of non-disclosure as “malicious and completely false.”
Tolosa objected to the characterization, saying the prosecution could not allow such accusations to go unchallenged.
“They cannot expect us to take that sitting down and not vehemently object to it,” he said.
The defense subsequently sought to have Tolosa’s remarks removed from the record, arguing that the prosecutor was effectively giving testimony instead of presenting legal arguments.
Tolosa rejected the objection, maintaining that he was responding to the defense’s accusations.
Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed the statements to remain on record, subject to cross-examination.
Escudero also instructed the defense to establish that the property identified in the Samal land title was the same property listed in Duterte’s SALN.
The disputed properties form part of the prosecution’s evidence supporting its allegation that Duterte accumulated at least Php 817.87 million in undeclared assets and unexplained wealth between 2022 and 2025.
The defense continues to challenge the allegations as the Senate impeachment court hears the remaining charge involving alleged unexplained wealth.
The discrepancies raised by prosecutors have yet to be conclusively resolved by the impeachment court.
