Follow the money

Follow the money | Daily Tribune

Securities and Exchange Commission records presented at the impeachment trial showed that Carpio was an incorporator, director and shareholder of Cale88 from 2021 to 2024, with his stake reaching 47.5 percent in 2024, before disappearing from the company’s records the following year. Cale88, incidentally, is supposed to be an exporter of banana chips.

Trillanes also pointed to P150 million donated by the Chinese Embassy to the Tapang at Malasakit Alliance for the Philippines, a nonprofit founded by VP Duterte, where she served as trustee. That donation was publicly documented and was earmarked for the construction of 13 classroom buildings in Davao City.

It is important to point out that these facts alone do not prove wrongdoing. But they form the basis for Trillanes’ larger accusation that these organizations were being used as conduits for Chinese financial support to the Dutertes.

The Vice President’s camp has predictably dismissed the allegations as recycled lies. The Chinese Embassy has declined to engage with the issue.

A more measured response came from Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who correctly said that Trillanes should turn over whatever evidence he has so the claims can be properly investigated. And that is exactly what should happen. Because the answer to an allegation this serious cannot simply be “lies” or “politika lang.”

This week, the impeachment court is set to hear Anti-Money Laundering Council testimony regarding inbound remittances to Cale88 from China and other countries. House prosecutors have confirmed that such summaries are part of the records submitted to the court. They have not, because of the sub judice rule, publicly confirmed Trillanes’ P319-million figure.

That’s why we need to follow the money.

Who sent it? For what purpose? What did Cale88 actually provide in return? Were the transactions ordinary commercial payments, or something else? And insofar as the foundation is concerned, was the P150 million exactly what the public documents say it was, a legitimate donation for classrooms, or is there evidence supporting Trillanes’ more sinister allegation? These are questions that deserve answers, not just slogans.

The national security dimension makes this even more urgent. The VP has repeatedly been criticized for her reluctance to speak forcefully against the Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea. That by itself does not prove she is compromised. But when allegations emerge that entities tied to her and her husband received hundreds of millions of pesos from Chinese sources, the obvious question of influence cannot simply be waved away.

This matters even more because Duterte has openly declared her intention to run for president in 2028. A candidate for the highest office in the land should be able to demonstrate that her decisions are shaped by Philippine interests, not foreign money.

Of course, nobody should be branded a traitor on the strength of a single press conference. But neither should we wait until a Manchurian candidate is sitting in Malacañang before deciding that allegations of foreign financial influence are worth investigating.