MANILA— The House prosecution said the financial discrepancies it raised involving Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, were drawn from records they themselves submitted to government agencies, including tax returns, audited financial statements and asset declarations.

House impeachment team adviser and spokesperson Ace Barbers said the documents presented by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza’s chief of staff, Atty. Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez, during Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial raised questions about the couple’s reported income, wealth accumulation and cash holdings.

“So sila mismo, hindi ito haka-haka mula sa prosecution because sila mismo ang nagdeklara nito sa kanilang BIR filings,” Barbers said during a post-trial press briefing.

“Hindi po galing sa prosecution ang mga numerong kanyang ipinakita. Galing ito sa mga tax returns at financial statements na si VP Sara at si Atty. Carpio mismo ang nag-file,” he added.

Garcia-Marquez also confirmed during the proceedings that Duterte and Carpio signed statements accepting responsibility for the information contained in their 2025 tax returns and accompanying financial statements.

Based on the BIR records, Barbers said the couple declared combined after-tax income of P85.34 million from 2007 to 2025.

Duterte’s declared net worth, meanwhile, rose by P91.41 million during the same period, from P7.25 million in 2007 to P98.66 million in 2025.

Barbers said the P91.41-million increase was about P6.06 million higher than the couple’s reported combined income, without yet factoring in their living expenses and other expenditures.

“Mas malaki ang yaman kaysa sa lahat ng kinita,” Barbers said.

The House prosecution also pointed to differences between the couple’s cash holdings reflected in their BIR-submitted financial records and the amounts disclosed in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).

Their audited financial statements indicated cash on hand and in banks totaling P21.23 million in 2022, P28.97 million in 2023, P15.53 million in 2024 and P13.8 million in 2025.

Barbers noted, however, that Duterte’s SALNs for the same years did not contain separate entries for cash on hand or cash in banks.

“Dalawa ’yung items na nawawala doon sa kanyang SALN: ’yung cash on hand at saka cash in bank. Malaking bagay ’yun,” Barbers said.

He rejected the defense’s explanation that the cash was already reflected under other personal properties, arguing that the amounts still did not match the financial records presented during the trial.

“Malinaw na merong willful and deliberate concealment of this material asset ng ating Pangalawang Pangulo dahil wala ito sa kanyang SALN,” he said.

The evidence is part of Article II of the impeachment complaint, which covers allegations involving unexplained wealth and inconsistencies in Duterte’s asset declarations.

Garcia-Marquez is set to return to the Senate on Friday, Oct. 9, for the continuation of her cross-examination.