THE House prosecution is putting the roughly P7-million market value of firearms registered to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, beside the nearly P27-million increase in their declared joint net worth from 2022 to 2025 as prosecutors scrutinize the accuracy of her asset declarations.
House prosecution adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers drew the comparison Tuesday in an interview on Ted Failon and DJ Chacha sa True FM, a day after senator-judges questioned the relevance of testimony on the couple’s firearms.
“Yung taon na from 2022 to 2025 ang in-increase ng kanyang net worth ay nasa around P28 million kung di ako nagkakamali Ted. At imagine mo yung 7 million na yan ay galing pa dun sa 28. So yun na mga pinapakita mga detalye dito sa allegations sa Article 2 na ito,” Barbers explained.
Duterte and Carpio declared a joint net worth of about P71.66 million in 2022 and P98.66 million in 2025, an increase of approximately P27 million during Duterte’s first three years as vice president.
A Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office official testified Monday that 22 firearms were registered to Duterte and 29 to Carpio, with a combined estimated current market value of P7.22 million.
The comparison does not by itself establish when the firearms were acquired or what acquisition values, if any, should be reflected in particular SALNs, an issue the prosecution and defense disputed during the hearing.
Barbers clarified that the prosecution presented the firearms primarily as part of its allegation concerning the completeness and truthfulness of Duterte’s SALNs rather than as proof by itself of unexplained wealth.
“So it doesn’t have anything to do with yung kanyang unexplained. Although on the side, itong amount ng kanyang armas ay umabot ng estimated around 7 million,” Barbers stressed.
“So kahapong nakatutok lamang tayo doon ted dito sa hindi niya pag comply truthfully o pag disclose truthfully nung kanya mga properties or assets sa SALN na nire-require nitong batas na ito,” he added.
The defense objected to the firearms testimony as irrelevant to the unexplained wealth allegation, while prosecutors maintained that firearms are personal property that must be considered in determining whether Duterte’s asset declarations were complete.
Barbers noted that alleged inaccurate disclosure is itself one of the separate components of Article II.
“Pangalawa, meron siya mga non-disclosures o untruthful disclosures sa kanyang SALN. Batas po yung SALN. So kailangan kapag ikaw yung nag-fill up ng SALN at ito isusumpaan mo nilal meron kung sworn document po ito,” Barbers pointed out.
The senator-judges will ultimately determine the evidentiary weight of the firearms records and whether the prosecution establishes that any property required to be disclosed was omitted from Duterte’s SALNs.
metrosundaily
