MANILA — The House prosecution on Tuesday questioned alleged discrepancies in the property records of Vice President Sara Duterte, this time involving a parcel of land in the Island Garden City of Samal, following a similar dispute over a property in Davao City.

Private prosecutor Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. challenged the defense’s claim that the Samal property had been declared in Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).

The dispute mirrors Monday’s testimony involving a property in Matina Crossing, Davao City, which the defense sought to establish had been disclosed in Duterte’s SALN through a different location description.

The prosecution maintained that the Matina property was registered under Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, and had not been declared.

Tolosa said the same issue arose over a property registered under Carpio’s name in Barangay San Isidro, Kaputian, Samal.

The property, covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 142-2019013134, has an assessed value of PHP346,960 and a market value of PHP4,956,600.

“This property also, there are glaring discrepancies,” Tolosa told the Senate impeachment court.

“There’s no way that this witness could prove that they are the same properties,” he added.

Tolosa argued that the fact that the properties were located in the same barangay did not establish that they were one and the same.

“All that he could testify to is, again, at most, they’re in the same barangay,” he said.

The defense presented Island Garden City of Samal Assessor Engr. John Kenneth Enumerables to support its position that the property had been declared in Duterte’s SALN. In presenting the witness, the defense described the prosecution’s accusation as “malicious and completely false.”

Tolosa objected to the characterization, saying: “They cannot expect us to take that sitting down and not vehemently object to it.”

The defense moved to strike Tolosa’s remarks from the record, arguing that the private prosecutor was effectively testifying. Tolosa countered that he was merely responding to the defense’s accusations.

Senate impeachment court Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed the statements to remain on record, subject to cross-examination. He also instructed the defense to establish that the property covered by the Samal land title was the same property listed in Duterte’s SALN.

The disputed properties form part of the prosecution’s evidence for its allegation that Duterte accumulated at least PHP817.87 million in undeclared assets and unexplained wealth from 2022 to 2025.

The defense is contesting the allegations under the remaining impeachment charge involving alleged unexplained wealth. (PNA)