Firm’s P776-M inflow draws scrutiny

Cale88 Foods Corp., a banana chip maker linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio, could be a “possible” candidate for a money-laundering case amid an unexplained P776-million cash inflow, an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) official said Tuesday.

AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura initially hesitated when pressed by Senator-judge Win Gatchalian, who pointed to the disparity between Cale88’s financial capacity and the money that flowed into its accounts.

“If the P776 million cannot be found in the books, is this a candidate for money laundering?” Gatchalian asked.

“If it’s just a candidate, yes. But we have to consider all other factors,” Buenaventura replied.

Cale88 was incorporated in 2021 with paid-up capital of only P125,000 but recorded P776 million in cash inflows. Its records showed P154 million in cash outflows and cumulative sales of only P23 million since 2021. Its assets and liabilities stood at P18 million and P20 million, respectively.

The company recorded more than P1.25 billion in transactions from 2022 to 2025, according to AMLC records.

Buenaventura said the disparity could serve as a “starting point” for an investigation but does not by itself establish money laundering. The AMLC would have to examine Cale88’s business profile and history and determine whether the transactions had a legal, trade or economic justification.

He also said a predicate unlawful activity, such as graft, drug trafficking or kidnapping for ransom, would have to be established before the AMLC could pursue a money-laundering case.

China transactions flagged

Gatchalian said roughly half of Cale88’s sales purportedly came from China, an issue also raised by Sen.-Judge Risa Hontiveros.

Hontiveros said her office found that some Chinese companies that remitted funds to Cale88 were linked to the Chinese state-owned enterprise system.

AMLC records showed Cale88 received P319.32 million in inward remittances from China and Hong Kong, including P315.935 million from mainland China.

Hontiveros cited Beijing Zhenweifang Food Co., which she said is owned by Xinjiang Fruit Industry Group, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. She also said the company has an embedded Chinese Communist Party organization within its corporate governance structure.

Buenaventura earlier testified that the P319.32 million in remittances was covered by three suspicious transaction reports because the transactions lacked an “underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification.”

The reports were filed by covered entities, including banks, nonbanks and insurance companies.