Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, husband of Sara Duterte, has filed a P7.3-million civil lawsuit against several individuals behind the impeachment complaint against the vice president, alleging that their accusations damaged his law practice and reputation.
The complaint, filed on 29 April before the Davao City Regional Trial Court, names Joel Saballa, Ramil Madriaga, and 13 other individuals accused of conspiring to undermine and disqualify Duterte’s political standing ahead of the 2028 elections.
“Plaintiff’s law practice via his Carpio Law Office has been irreparably damaged, adversely impacted his good reputation in the legal community resulting in severe loss of income and legal opportunities,” the complaint stated.
Carpio alleged that the defendants conspired to “blacken, degrade, destroy and harm” the vice president’s reputation while indirectly tarnishing his own “unsullied reputation” as a lawyer.
The suit stemmed from the impeachment complaint filed before the House of Representatives, accusing Duterte of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, and other alleged offenses.
During the hearings, Madriaga claimed in affidavits that he delivered duffel bags containing millions of pesos in confidential funds to several locations, allegedly under Duterte’s instructions.
Madriaga directly implicated Carpio involving magnetic lifters, testifying that Carpio requested assistance in facilitating the release of "construction equipment" from the Bureau of Customs that was later linked to the smuggling of billions of pesos worth of shabu.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) also confirmed that bank accounts linked to Carpio and the Vice President were involved in P6.77 billion in transactions between 2006 and 2025.
Of this total, P2.99 billion was tied specifically to Carpio’s accounts, which were not declared in the Vice President's Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Carpio dismissed the allegations as “concocted, coached and invented lies” meant to support what he described as the “malicious weaponization” of the impeachment process.
Prior to the lawsuit, Carpio filed criminal complaints on 27 April, against the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor and several lawmakers, including Leila de Lima and Gerville Luistro, for disclosing these bank records.
Carpio further noted in his lawsuit that Leila de Lima, representing the Mamamayang Liberal Party-list, endorsed the impeachment complaint on the same day it was filed.
The complaint argued that the defendants acted in bad faith by including allegations that allegedly fall outside the constitutional grounds for impeachment, maintaining that impeachable officials may only be held liable for acts committed during their incumbency and in relation to official duties.
Carpio is seeking P1 million in actual damages, P3 million in moral damages, P3 million in exemplary damages, and P300,000 in attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.
The case remains pending before the Davao court.