Sara’s SALN matches husband’s property records

An Island Garden City of Samal assessor told the Senate impeachment court Tuesday that a property registered in the name of Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband was reflected in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), although a discrepancy in its recorded barangay raised questions about its identification.

Engineer John Kenneth Enumerables said the property covered by a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) ending in 3134 belonged to Manases Reyes Carpio and matched the property declared in Duterte’s SALN based on its assessed and fair market values.

“The registered owner is Manases Reyes Carpio,” Enumerables said during questioning by defense lawyer Lindon Bacquel.

He admitted, however, that the matching property values were his only basis for identifying the property, as Duterte’s SALN entry did not include the title number or electronic real property identification number.

City records placed the property in Barangay San Isidro, Kaputian District, while Duterte’s SALN identified it as being in Barangay Matanos, also in Kaputian District.

Asked whether the two locations were the same, Enumerables replied, “No.”

He also confirmed that Barangay Matanos did not exist in the city, prompting Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros to seek clarification.

“They are distinct and separate, not the same barangay,” Hontiveros said.

Enumerables said he had no personal knowledge of why the two barangay designations differed but confirmed that Barangay San Isidro existed while Barangay Matanos did not.

Sara camp: No error

Duterte’s spokesperson Paolo Panelo maintained that the discrepancy did not mean the vice president had failed to declare the property.

Panelo traced the difference to the property’s original title, which he said retained the Barangay Matanos designation even though the land was now located in Barangay San Isidro.

“The mother title placed it in Barangay Matanos,” Panelo said, adding that the designation could not be changed without a court order.

He said the matching technical description, fair market value, assessed value and land area supported the defense’s position that the property had been properly declared.

“There was no error here,” Panelo said.

He argued that neither Duterte, the city assessor nor the Registry of Deeds had made a mistake, adding that the government should take the initiative to authorize amendments to the affected land titles to reflect the current barangay designation.