AS THE prosecution wraps up its presentation of evidence in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, we are confronted with apparent connections to foreign corporations, some of which are domiciled in China, that if believed to be true, may be the proverbial final straw for conviction.
Under the microscope now is Cale88 Foods Corp., ostensibly a banana chips manufacturer and exporter, that is being linked to VP Sara and her husband Atty. Mans Carpio.
SEC filings indicate Carpio was an incorporator of Cale88. He was also a director, and shareholder from 2021 to 2024, and held a 47.5 percent ownership stake.
***
The Anti-Money Laundering Council has presented records showing that Cale88 received P319.32 million in inward remittances from China and Hong Kong.
This was the same figure revealed by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV in his press conference.
The Duterte camp’s quick denial flies in the face of records that paint the picture of a highly profitable business venture despite the said company having a complement of only two employees.
***
Said to have been incorporated only in 2021, or well within the presidential term of Rodrigo Duterte, hundreds of millions came in – a record of sorts for newbies in the banana chips industry.
AMLC said that Cale88 had transactions totaling over P1.25 billion from 2022 to 2025.
Since Cale88 was apparently making good business, why would its principal shareholder sell his stakes? Last year the corporation’s general information no longer listed Carpio as shareholder and was replaced by Pikimong Philippines Corp.
***
Does Carpio’s “divestment” come in the heels of former President Duterte’s sojourn to the Hague in March 2025?
Sen. Risa Hontiveros has noted that a Ukrainian firm being prosecuted for fraud and money laundering had remitted funds to Cale88.
In last week’s hearing, Hontiveros said Cale88’s records reflected the remittance of Arkmen LLC whose registration number and address matched those of a firm involved in criminal proceedings in Ukraine over alleged fraud and money laundering involving 1.225 million euros.
***
Hontiveros said the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv ordered a search of Arkmen’s premises in March 2026. It also directed the freezing of its entire shareholding in April 2026.
Did this foreign company import banana chips from Cale88?
Earlier, Hontiveros said Beijing Zhenweifang Food Company, another remitter, is owned by the Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group, which is a “Chinese state-owned enterprise” and “advances the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.”
***
Carpio’s transfer of shares to Pikimong is also fraught with problems.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue said that its databases show no transfer of such shares. There is no electronic certificate authorizing registration (e-CAR) which is a mandatory requirement under the pertinent BIR rules.
This would have shown that taxes were paid in the transfer.
***
Was there a frenzy to sanitize the Duterte couple’s businesses or fronts following Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and Sara’s subsequent impeachment?
Will minority senators be able to withstand the tide of evidence?
Or is the writing on the wall?/PN
