Defense grills Cabrera over P817-M assets

Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense lawyers will subject alleged forensic expert Atty. Alexander Cabrera to cross-examination over his claim that she and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio, had P817.87 million in allegedly undeclared assets and income from 2022 to 2025.

Cabrera, the House prosecution panel’s final witness, presented his financial analysis before the Senate impeachment court on Friday, drawing on bank records, tax documents, Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, and corporate filings.

His testimony is expected to be tested on the sources of the financial records, the methodology used to calculate the couple’s alleged wealth and whether the documents support the prosecution’s conclusions.

Lead defense counsel Atty. Sheila Sison had questioned the prosecution’s access to financial records she described as confidential, including documents obtained from banks, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

The prosecution maintained that the records were obtained through processes authorized by the impeachment court.

Cabrera’s professional background has also drawn attention because of a controversy involving Isla Lipana & Co., the Philippine member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he previously served as chairman and senior partner before becoming chairman emeritus.

Credibility

In April 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice (DoJ) against the Maria Francesca Tan (MFT) Group of Companies and Foundry Ventures I over alleged illegal investment-taking activities and misrepresentations in financial statements.

The SEC also implicated Isla Lipana, alleging that its audit work helped make MFT’s financial statements appear fairly presented despite alleged inconsistencies and inaccuracies.

The SEC said MFT allegedly offered investors returns of 12 percent to 18 percent and that its audited financial statements for 2018 to 2021 contained material misrepresentations.

The DoJ ordered a preliminary investigation into the complaint in May 2024.

Isla Lipana disputed the scope of the allegations, saying MFT Inc. was its audit client as a standalone entity and that Foundry Ventures and MFT’s other subsidiaries were not its clients.

Netizens have questioned the credibility of Cabrera as a witness over the MFT issue.

Demurrer to evidence

As this developed, House prosecutor Rep. Joel Chua challenged Duterte’s lawyers to seek dismissal of the case if they believed the prosecution had failed to establish its case.

“If they truly believe our evidence is weak, then challenge it before the impeachment court. File a demurrer to evidence and let the court decide,” Chua said.

A demurrer to evidence generally seeks dismissal on the ground that the prosecution has failed to present sufficient evidence.

But whether the remedy applies in the same manner to impeachment proceedings remains a legal question because of their sui generis nature.

The prosecution has presented evidence on allegations involving grave threats against high-ranking officials, misuse of confidential funds and unexplained wealth.

It has also indicated that it intends to drop its fourth article concerning alleged bribery of Department of Education officials.