METRO City Chow Foods Corp.’s identified net bank inflows reached P75.36 million in 2025, more than double the P35.54 million in inflows reflected in its audited financial statements, House prosecution spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong of Lanao del Sur said on Thursday, citing a discrepancy that the prosecution says warrants further scrutiny.
At a press conference, Adiong compared the company’s bank records with the figures in its audited financial statements, saying the differences raised questions about its reported finances.
“But if you go through the real documents of the real amounts of the real income of this corporation, Metro City Chow, mukhang tumaas, mataas ang kanilang income,” Alonto Adiong said.
The presentation showed similar gaps in the preceding years. Metro City Chow’s financial-statement figures were P35.23 million in 2022, P36.34 million in 2023 and P35.11 million in 2024. The corresponding bank figures were P54.11 million, P55.05 million and P56.09 million, respectively.
“But again, the accounts, corporate accounts in these banks say otherwise,” he said.
Alonto Adiong reviewed the company alongside GenCorp Industries Inc. and Cale88 Foods Corp. as part of the prosecution’s case concerning Vice President Sara Duterte’s wealth, asset disclosures and business interests.
The GenCorp presentation showed higher bank inflows than financial-statement figures from 2023 to 2025, although the figures went the other way in 2022. For Cale88, the presentation included a broader set of bank inflows that covered foreign receipts.
Alonto Adiong stressed that corporate earnings should not automatically be treated as personal income received by shareholders.
“Ibig sabihin ang kita ng corporation ay hindi automatic kita yan ng mga individual shareholders,” he said.
He cited payments to suppliers and staff salaries as expenses that must be considered before determining the amount, if any, available for distribution to investors.
“Ibig sabihin yung mga expenses na ito ay ibabawas muna sa kita ng kumpanya,” Alonto Adiong said.
Financial forensic analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera’s report attributed portions of the questioned amounts to ownership interests. In GenCorp’s case, the presentation used an assumed 20-percent allocation to Duterte.
Alonto Adiong said a company’s separate legal personality should not be used to shield its financial records from examination.
“Protection po ito sa kumpanya at hindi po ito taguan,” he said.
metrosundaily
