HOUSE impeachment spokesperson and adviser Ace Barbers said Saturday that Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth could climb as high as ₱1.6 billion — roughly double the ₱817.87‑million figure presented by the prosecution’s financial expert witness.
Speaking at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, Barbers noted that Atty. Alexander Cabrera’s calculation was deliberately conservative, designed to avoid overcounting or duplication. “Just double the 817 million pesos; it is likely conservative,” Barbers remarked when asked about the broader scope of unreported assets and income.
He also pointed to earlier testimony from the Anti‑Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which identified approximately ₱4.4 billion in covered and suspicious transactions linked to Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, dating from 2007 to 2025.
The AMLC breakdown included ₱1.63 billion in inflows, ₱1.31 billion in outflows, and ₱1.46 billion in transactions that could not be reliably categorized. Barbers emphasized that this figure covers only formally reported activity — meaning any transactions that went unreported remain unaccounted for and could push the total even higher.
Cabrera’s own report, focused on the period 2022–2025, arrived at the ₱817.87‑million aggregate after eliminating overlapping balances. Barbers’ ₱1.6‑billion projection is a hypothetical estimate based on doubling Cabrera’s conservative baseline, not a separate forensic finding presented in court.
The defense is scheduled to cross‑examine Cabrera on Monday, October 12, as the prosecution nears the end of its evidence presentation. The AMLC has also clarified that its transaction report does not constitute a formal finding that the full amount represents unexplained or illegally obtained wealth.
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