Registrars say 2 Carpio properties do not match Sara Duterte SALNs

Two land registration officials testified Thursday that properties registered to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, did not appear to directly match entries in Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Davao City Register of Deeds Kathy Florence Baldonado and Samal Deputy Register of Deeds Marco Pineda took the witness stand during the impeachment trial of Duterte as prosecutors presented land records involving properties acquired in 2018 and 2024.

One property in Matina, Davao City, measuring 379 square meters, was acquired by Carpio for P6 million in July 2024 and later mortgaged for P8 million, according to records presented to the impeachment court.

Asked to compare the records with Duterte’s 2025 SALN, Baldonado said she could not find an entry that directly matched the property in terms of price, location and mode of acquisition.

Presiding officer Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero likewise said he could not find a one-to-one match for the property in the SALN presented to the court.

The defense, however, pointed to an entry referring to Barangay 74-A, which it said is also known as Matina Crossing, raising the possibility that the property had been declared under a different description. Escudero said the matter could be addressed further during cross-examination.

Pineda, meanwhile, testified on a separate property in the Island Garden City of Samal acquired in 2018.

He said no entry in Duterte’s 2019 SALN “perfectly matches” the property reflected in the deed of sale, but stressed that he could only testify on what appeared in the documents and could not conclude whether the property was undeclared.

The testimony forms part of the prosecution’s presentation under Article II of the impeachment complaint, which concerns allegations of unexplained wealth. The defense disputes the claim that the properties were omitted from Duterte’s SALNs.