MANILA — The camp of Second Gentleman Manases Carpio moved to debunk allegations of billions of pesos in suspicious bank transactions, asserting that the P2-billion figure cited during impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio stemmed from a banking system error and should have been only P2 million.
At a press briefing, Carpio’s lawyer Atty. Peter Paul Danao said the amount reflected in documents presented before the House Committee on Justice was the result of a supposed “system glitch” attributed to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), which led to an inflated figure.
“Kung titingnan niyo po ‘yung report… meron po do’n nakalagay sa bandang dulo na may P2 billion do’n na sinabi ng BPI [ay] system glitch,” Danao said, referring to a report that circulated publicly.
“Nagkamali po ang BPI. Hindi dapat P2 billion ang andoon, nasa amount na ‘yun,” he added.
Danao further claimed that the alleged discrepancy was not emphasized, with public attention instead drawn to what he described as misleading figures involving billions of pesos in transactions.
A report submitted to the House Committee on Justice indicated that some transaction data linked to Carpio had been flagged due to a system-related error, prompting subsequent corrections.
However, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon refuted claims that the discrepancy was hidden, maintaining that the issue had been reflected in the documents reviewed by lawmakers.
The controversy emerged amid the ongoing impeachment proceedings against the Vice President, where financial records and alleged irregularities form part of the issues under scrutiny./PN
