SENATOR-JUDGET Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan highlighted the timing of ₱41 million withdrawn from Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio’s bank accounts on August 6, 2024 — just six days after a drug‑smuggling complaint was filed against him and less than three weeks after Vice President Sara Duterte stepped down as Education secretary.
The transactions unfolded in a compressed span of one hour and 12 minutes, with the first recorded at 12:05 p.m. and the final at 1:17 p.m. Two withdrawals from BDO totaled ₱23 million, while four separate encashments at PNB amounted to ₱18 million. The first two transactions occurred merely 82 seconds apart. Pangilinan emphasized the coincidence of dates but did not establish a direct causal link or trace where the funds were ultimately directed.
Pangilinan also raised the simultaneous closure of four safety deposit boxes — numbered 27, 28, 29, and 30 — all on January 7, 2025. Forensic analyst Atty. Alexander Cabrera confirmed the closure date but acknowledged he could not verify their contents. When asked what items are typically kept in such facilities, Cabrera cited valuables, documents, and mementos; he noted that cash was theoretically possible but offered no evidence that these boxes held currency. The inquiry did not connect the closures to the August withdrawals or confirm what was removed.
The senator further pressed Cabrera on the unusual practice of issuing manager’s checks payable to the account holder himself — done 12 times over three years. Cabrera described this as something he had never encountered in standard practice. He explained that converting funds into a manager’s check does not extinguish the asset; instead, it transforms the deposit into a receivable — money owed by the bank to the holder — which should still be declared in the SALN. “That means the bank owes you. So if the bank owes you, you have a receivable,” Cabrera stated, adding that such maneuvering does not exempt an asset from disclosure.
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