Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial, Day 41: Defense Witness Admits He Cannot Confirm Disputed Samal Property Is the One Declared in Asset Statements
The Senate impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte entered its 41st day on Nov. 10, and a defense witness, Island Garden City of Samal assessor John Kenneth Enumerables, admitted under cross-examination by private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa Jr. that he was not certain a disputed property was the same parcel listed in Duterte's Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
The property is registered under Duterte's husband, lawyer Manases Carpio. Its land title (TCT 142-2019013134) places it in Barangay San Isidro, Kaputian, while Duterte's SALN listed the location as Barangay Matanos. Enumerables said he had linked the two records because they shared the same assessed value of 346,960 pesos and fair market value of 4,956,600 pesos. Asked whether the titled property was the same one declared in the SALN, he replied: "I'm not certain, sir."
The acquisition details also diverge: Duterte's 2025 SALN listed 2013 as the acquisition year and 4.041 million pesos as the cost, while the deed of absolute sale showed a price of 3,453,849 pesos and was executed on March 15, 2018. The prosecution says the property forms part of its evidence for the allegation that Duterte accumulated at least 817.87 million pesos in undeclared assets and unexplained wealth from 2022 to 2025; the defense maintains the property was declared.
At the opening of the same day's session, Presiding Officer Francis Escudero warned witnesses that deliberately misleading the court could lead to contempt and perjury charges. The previous day, defense witness Jaime Adalin, the Davao City assessor, had drawn frustration from several senator-judges with vague, "I don't recall" answers about a Davao City property.
(Source: Philippine News Agency)
Source: Philippine News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：菲律宾副总统萨拉·杜特尔特官方肖像。照片：菲律宾副总统办公室，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte. Photo by the Office of the Vice President of the Philippines, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
