MANILA — Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday alleged that more than P319 million from the Chinese government and China-based corporations went to a banana chip company linked to Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.
Trillanes made the allegation during a press briefing in San Juan, where he raised what he described as red flags involving CALE88 Foods Corp., a company owned by Carpio.
Among the issues he cited were the company’s reportedly low electricity costs despite operating as a banana chip manufacturer, zero trade receivables and payables, and the absence of rank-and-file employees.
Trillanes said a more significant concern was the P319 million in cash remittances that he claimed CALE88 received from China.
He compared this with the P150 million donation that the Tapang at Malasakit Foundation, which lists Duterte as a member of its board of trustees, reportedly received from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines.
“Ngayon, ang pumasok na sales based do’n sa kanilang financial statements — lahat ito official documents ito, SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) documents, mga financial statements na finile nila. Ang declaration nila P208,493,000 plus ang sales pero ang pumasok na pera sa kanya ay P300 million mahigit,” Trillanes said.
“Punta naman tayo dito sa Tapang at Malasakit na foundation ni Sara Duterte. Ito, ‘yong board of trustees, si Sara Duterte, ito ‘yong kanyang trusted staff Jefry Tupas, tapos pati si Mayor Lani Cayetano […] tumanggap sila ng P150 million from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, itong foundation ni Sara Duterte,” he added.
Trillanes said the alleged transactions were particularly concerning because Duterte is vice president.
“Ito na ngayon ang pinakamabigat sa lahat, base na sa mga nakalap namin na impormasyon at ito ay mapapatotohanan sa impeachment court […] galing sa Chinese government at mga korporasyon na (naka) base at nago-operate sa China, pumasok P319 million mahigit, papunta sa CALE88 na kumpanya ni Mans Carpio, na asawa ni Sara Duterte,” he said.
“Dito sa atin, conjugal properties ‘yan […] Tapos dito naman sa Tapang at Malasakit, pumasok P150 million,” he added. “Ito na ang paraan ng China na pagsuporta sa mag-asawang Duterte, maliwanag po ito. Kaya dapat kikilabutan po tayo rito, kasi vice president po siya, may national security implications, bawal po yan.”
The Inquirer has asked the Chinese Embassy and the Office of the Vice President for comment, but neither had replied as of posting time.
Trillanes dropped as witness
Trillanes was supposed to testify for the prosecution on Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which involves allegations that Duterte has unexplained wealth and failed to declare assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
However, lead prosecutor and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro told the impeachment court on Thursday that the prosecution would no longer present Trillanes as a witness.
Trillanes later said in a Facebook post that he had asked Luistro to remove him from the witness list to relieve pressure on the prosecution panel. He said he would instead disclose during Friday’s press briefing what he had intended to present in court.
Trillanes had been considered a key prosecution witness on Article II because he had for years alleged that Duterte and members of her family, including her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, maintained bank accounts that were not declared in her SALN.
During a House committee on justice hearing on April 22, Trillanes presented documents involving several bank accounts and was asked to explain his claims of hidden wealth.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council later confirmed that 18 financial transactions randomly selected from Trillanes’ annexes matched transactions in its records.
Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima had asked the AMLC to check the 18 transactions, which she randomly selected from Trillanes’ documents.
AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura eventually confirmed that all 18 transactions matched the council’s records. (Gabriel Pabico Lalu © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
