MANILA — House prosecutors questioned the credibility of the defense’s first witness in Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial Monday, arguing that discrepancies in property records undermine claims that a P6-million Davao City lot was properly disclosed in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
House prosecutor Jay Tolosa challenged the testimony of Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, whom the defense presented to establish that the property covered by Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 146-20240110775 had been declared in the Vice President’s SALNs.
Tolosa argued that while Adalin could authenticate the property’s tax declaration, he could not establish that the land identified in the title was the same property listed in Duterte-Carpio’s SALN.
“With respect to offer No. 2, that the testimony of this witness that that TCT was disclosed in the SALN of the Vice President, we object to that for being improper and misleading,” Tolosa said.
“There is no way that this witness could prove that that property indicated in the SALN is the same property covered by the subject TCT,” he added.
Tolosa stressed that the properties being located in the same barangay did not necessarily establish that they were identical, particularly given discrepancies in their declared acquisition values.
He also rejected the defense’s characterization of the prosecution’s allegations as malicious and completely false.
“No. 3, we also vehemently oppose their characterization that our position that that property covered by the TCT was not disclosed in the SALN was maliciously and completely false. We take the strongest exceptions to these accusations, Your Honor. It cannot be said that it’s completely false because again, just a mere facial examination of those two documents would show that there are obvious discrepancies between the two,” he said.
The disputed property is a lot in Matina, Davao City, reportedly purchased for P6 million in July 2024 by Duterte-Carpio’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
Carpio also acquired a P3.4-million property in the Island Garden City of Samal in March 2018.
The House prosecution panel maintains that neither property was disclosed in the Vice President’s SALNs, citing documents and testimony presented during the impeachment proceedings.
The defense, meanwhile, seeks to establish through Adalin’s testimony that the Matina property was properly declared, directly challenging a key allegation in the prosecution’s case./PN
