Insurance investments alone expose gaps in VP Sara’s SALNs, House prosecution says

THE House prosecution on Wednesday said insurance investments of Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, already exceeded the amounts declared as their “other personal properties,” pointing to what it described as a pattern of under-declaration in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).

The prosecution made the assertion as FWD Life Insurance Corp. Chief Legal and Compliance Officer Atty. Juan Sotero Roman authenticated company records showing that Carpio paid P10.6 million in a single premium for an investment-linked insurance policy in 2024.

“Kung insurance pa lang ay lampas na sa buong deklarasyon, nasaan ang iba pang ari-arian?” House prosecutor Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Lordan Suan told the Senate impeachment court in his offer of the testimony of Roman and representatives of other insurance firms.

Suan said insurance records gathered by the prosecution showed that Carpio had insurance investments with an acquisition cost of at least P28 million, compared with only P8.075 million in “other personal properties” declared for him in Duterte’s 2022 SALN.

“Halos P20 million ang agwat,” Suan said.

The prosecutor said the discrepancy becomes more significant because the insurance investments represent only one category of assets being presented under Article II of the impeachment case.

For Duterte herself, Suan said the acquisition cost of her insurance investments had already reached nearly P7 million in 2022, exceeding the P5.25 million she declared as her total “other personal properties” that year.

“Insurance pa lang, lampas na, at hindi pa kasama ang bank deposits, baril at iba pang ari-arian,” Suan said.

He said the prosecution intends to compare insurance records with Duterte’s SALNs for four consecutive years to establish what it alleges was a continuing pattern of incomplete declarations.

“Apat na taon, apat na pirma, apat na SALN, at taon-taon kulang ang deklarasyon,” Suan said.

“Ang SALN ay deklarasyon ng ari-arian, hindi listahan ng gustong ipakita. Kung kayang magbayad ng milyon-milyon sa insurance, bakit hindi ito mailagay sa SALN?” he added.

Roman, meanwhile, confirmed from FWD Life’s own records that Carpio was the policy owner of an insurance product dated May 16, 2024, for which P10.6 million was paid as premium.

“The record reflects, Your Honor, P10,600,000,” Roman testified.

He said the policy had a sum assured, or face value, of P13.25 million and remained active.

Roman also confirmed that Carpio’s policy was a unit-linked product with an investment component and a payout feature.

Asked whether placing P10.6 million into the policy carried an expectation that the money would grow, Roman replied: “The expectation, Your Honor, is there, but the payouts are not guaranteed, Your Honor, because it is in the nature of an investment.”

He said the policyholder could withdraw the value of the policy upon instruction and generally receive the money within three to five business days.

The withdrawal value could rise or fall depending on the performance of the market where the funds were invested, Roman said.

The defense objected to portions of Suan’s offer comparing the insurance records with Duterte’s SALNs, arguing that Roman had no personal knowledge of the Vice President’s sworn declarations and was competent to testify only on FWD Life’s records.

Suan acknowledged that Roman would not be questioned about the SALNs but maintained that the prosecution needed to state the SALN figures in its offer to establish the purpose of the insurance evidence.

“It is essential that the SALN be mentioned in our offer because it provides the baseline for measuring the under-declaration of the respondent of her insurance investments,” Suan said.

The impeachment court allowed Suan’s offer to remain on the record but ruled that Roman could not be questioned about Duterte’s SALNs.

Suan said the prosecution would use records from FWD Life and other insurers to support its allegation that Duterte repeatedly failed to fully declare the acquisition cost of insurance investments from 2022 to 2025.

The insurance evidence follows the prosecution’s presentation of bank records showing more than P190 million in cumulative year-end balances involving Duterte and Carpio from 2022 to 2025.

The financial records are being presented under Article II of the impeachment case, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth and failure to fully and truthfully disclose her assets, liabilities and business interests in her SALNs.

The defense has disputed the prosecution’s interpretation of the financial records and maintained that the evidence does not establish unexplained wealth.