ONLY Vice President Sara Duterte can explain the P4-million discrepancy in her property records and whether she made mistakes in her sworn asset declarations, the House impeachment prosecution said Monday.
House private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Duterte must personally explain why a Davao City property registered under her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, had a P6-million selling price in official documents but a P10-million acquisition cost in her 2024 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
“Kung ’yun ang sasabihin nila, nagkamali lamang, wala, sino ho pa ba kaya ang puwedeng magsabi na nagkamali lang?” Tolosa said at a post-trial press conference.
He stressed that Duterte, not her first defense witness, Davao City Assessor Engr. Jaime Adalin, was in the best position to explain the discrepancies.
Tolosa also questioned why the Deed of Absolute Sale and electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration described the property as a lot with improvements, while Duterte’s 2024 SALN listed only a residential lot.
A commercial building appeared in her 2025 SALN.
House lead prosecutor Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro said Adalin could not conclusively establish that the property listed in Duterte’s SALNs was the same parcel covered by the land title registered under Carpio.
“There is no way to verify because iba ’yung references sa title. The title makes use of the technical description, which was never contained in the SALN,” Luistro said.
She noted that Adalin acknowledged during questioning that the documents could refer either to the same property or to different properties.
“He said yes as well, which means that it cannot be verified with accuracy,” Luistro said.
Tolosa also challenged the defense’s reliance on matching assessed and fair market values to establish that the documents referred to the same property.
“How can you say that they’re the same considering these discrepancies?” he asked.
Adalin was presented to establish that the disputed 379-square-meter property in Juna Subdivision, Matina Crossing, Davao City, had been properly disclosed in Duterte’s SALNs.
The defense maintains that the property was declared, while the prosecution says the witness failed to resolve the conflicting records.
The dispute forms part of the prosecution’s evidence involving at least P817 million in alleged undeclared assets and unexplained wealth under the remaining impeachment charge against Duterte. (
metrosundaily
