VP Sara, husband received funds from China — Trillanes

Former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Friday alleged that Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, received funds from the Chinese government and Chinese corporations.

Trillanes, who asked the House prosecution panel to withdraw his name as a witness in the ongoing impeachment trial of Duterte, held a press conference at Club Filipino in San Juan City to present what he described as findings on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Duterte family, including the vice president.

During the press conference, Trillanes alleged that Duterte’s Tapang at Malasakit Foundation received P150 million from the Chinese government.

Based on documents presented by Trillanes, Tapang at Malasakit entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines, in coordination with the Department of Education in Davao City, for the construction of 13 classroom buildings.

In 2019, the foundation reportedly received a P150-million donation from the Chinese Embassy, as stated in a memorandum of understanding dated 8 August 2018. A portion of the amount, P8.42 million, was recorded in the foundation’s statements of financial position as “Due to School Construction Projects” as of 31 December 2019 and was fully disbursed during the year ended 31 December 2020.

Trillanes also alleged that Cale88 Foods Corp., a company linked to Carpio, received P319 million from Chinese corporations. AMLC records submitted to the Senate Impeachment Court also include summaries of inward remittances to Cale88 Foods from China and other countries.

“That’s why we should be appalled by this, because she [Duterte] is the Vice President. There are national security implications,” Trillanes said.

“It will be released. There’s a state-owned company from China [that] will enter directly into the business or company of Mans Carpio. The red flags you saw are clear,” the former senator added.

Meanwhile, Trillanes thanked the House prosecution team, including the public and private prosecutors, for supporting his bid to testify in the impeachment trial.

“As it is, you saw, they were very professional, it was a very straightforward presentation of facts and evidence. And behind that, there were good team members who supported me, the lawyers, the researchers, and the communications people, all of them, so it was a very efficient presentation of evidence,” Trillanes said.

“So, I would like to thank them. However, due to circumstances beyond their control, that is why we are here today. And my presentation today should be presented to the impeachment court. You are the ones who will judge the value of this. And what’s difficult is that the things I haven’t presented yet, you are already being judged,” he added.