Cale88 accounts closed in July

Two checking accounts of Cale88 Food Corp., a firm partly owned by Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Mans Carpio, were closed in July, the same month she faced her impeachment trial in the Senate.

The development emerged during Day 35 of the trial Wednesday after Senator-judge Kiko Pangilinan asked Security Bank Branch Banking Group head Leslie Cham whether Cale88 maintained a peso account with the bank.

“It appears that Cale88 has two checking accounts but was closed already as of this point in time. This is a peso account,” Cham said in response.

“When was it closed?” Pangilinan asked.

“It closed [in] July 2026… Both closed [in] July 2026,” the prosecution witness replied.

One account was opened in August 2024, while the other was opened earlier. They had ending balances of P332,530.95 and P21,164.27 as of December 2025.

Cale88 was incorporated in 2021. Carpio served as an incorporator, director and shareholder from 2021 to 2024 and held a 47.5-percent stake. Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corp. replaced him in 2025, although Duterte still listed Cale88 as a business interest in her 2025 SALN.

Pangilinan sought Cale88’s monthly transaction reports dating to 2024, saying the Senate should examine money flowing into and out of the accounts, including transactions leading up to their closure.

Anti-Money Laundering Council records showed Cale88 received P319.32 million in inward remittances from China and Hong Kong, with P315.935 million coming from China.

Upon questioning by Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo, Cham said one Cale88 account received P40.14 million in 2024, while outflows totaled P40.001 million. In 2025, inflows reached P6.3 million.

Cale88 flagged

Earlier, AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura said Cale88 was subject to three suspicious transaction reports involving remittance inflows that lacked an “underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification.”

A suspicious transaction report does not by itself establish money laundering or prove that funds are illegal.

Duterte has no account with Security Bank, while Carpio has two, one of which remains active.

Gencorp Industries Inc., a company linked to Duterte, maintains eight active Security Bank accounts opened between 2023 and 2025, Cham testified.

Duterte previously identified herself as an incorporator and stockholder of Gencorp, although Securities and Exchange Commission records do not list her as one.

Gencorp received P34.2 million from the Davao City government from July 2022 to June 2026, overlapping with Duterte’s tenure as vice president. The city’s local chief executive is her younger brother, Baste Duterte.

Edjen Oliquino