RIDON: MAN’S CARPIO MAY BE CALLED AS HOSTILE WITNESS IN VP SARA UNEXPLAINED WEALTH

THE House prosecution may consider calling Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, as a hostile witness in her impeachment trial to explain bank accounts and financial records linked to him under the unexplained wealth charge, impeachment prosecutor Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said Thursday.

“Pwede hong pag-isipan kasi siyempre, kung halimbawa napapangalanan siya doon sa ilang mga bank accounts, kung napapangalanan po siya doon sa ilang mga dokumento, eh ’di I think rightfully pwede hong maipatawag para maitanong ’yun pong katotohanan sa likod po ng mga dokumento na ito,” Ridon said during a press briefing at the House of Representatives.

Ridon, co-lead of the prosecution team handling Article II pertaining to unexplained wealth, emphasized that calling Carpio remains only a possibility and is still at an early stage of discussion.

Carpio is not currently on the prosecution’s witness list, and Ridon said no hostile witnesses have so far been identified for the unexplained wealth presentation.

“Wala pa naman po sa pinag-uusapan na maisama si attorney  Carpio doon po sa bilang po ng witnesses po namin as a hostile witness, pero pwede po nating pag-isipan po ito,” Ridon said.

The prosecution is preparing to open Article II on Sept. 14 with more than 1,800 financial documents, including subpoenaed bank and tax records involving Duterte, Carpio and their companies.

Article II accuses Duterte of betrayal of public trust for allegedly accumulating unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to fully and truthfully disclose her assets and liabilities.

Prosecutors have cited an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report covering 663 transactions involving Duterte and Carpio worth about P6.77 billion — around P3.77 billion linked to Duterte and P2.99 billion to Carpio.

An initial prosecution review also found that details of 15 bank accounts involving Duterte and Carpio matched accounts identified in AMLC records.

Ridon said Carpio’s possible testimony would depend on whether prosecutors determine that questioning him is relevant to explaining the financial records presented in Article II.

Carpio recently filed a complaint against several lawmakers and government officials, including Ridon, over the disclosure of financial records involving him and Duterte.

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the complaint without prejudice on jurisdictional grounds.

Carpio’s camp has said the dismissal was not a determination of the complaint on the merits and that he may refile it before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The prosecution is set to begin presenting its unexplained wealth evidence Monday, with Ridon and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno serving as co-leads of the Article II team.