[ANALYSIS] Sara got involved in various firms, but earned nothing?

How did Vice President Sara Duterte manage to grow her Statement of Assets and Liabilities roughly from P7.2 million in 2007 to over P98.6 million until 2025, or over a period of 18 years? 

That question, while much awaited, was left unanswered on Day 27 of the impeachment trial, a week after the prosecution panel opened the hearing on Article II of the four impeachment complaints, which accuses Duterte of having sinfully accumulated unexplained wealth. 

That issue remained the multi-million-peso question that needed more and immediate answers in the next few days. Day 27 was marred by what seemed like prosecution lawyer Erwin Matib’s sloppy handling of documents that delayed the trial for at least 30 minutes.

Quoting records filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission, prosecution witness, Gerardo del Rosario, SEC director for Company Registration and Monitoring Department, bared Duterte’s holdings or involvement in at least 10 companies, as she has declared in her SALN.

Among these companies were: Metro City Chow Foods Corp., Davao New Royal Taipan Corp., Gencorp Industries Inc., Mati City Ice Plant and Cold Storage Inc., Geometry Security and Investigation Agency Inc., Davao Emerging Taipan Corp., Davao Bounty Times Food Corp., City Hall King Chow Foods Corp., SGT Fortune Horse Corp., CYKT Inc., 3 Kids Inc., plus other companies listed under her spouse, lawyer Manases Carpio, among them Carpio Lawyers, Cale 88 Foods Corp., 888 Bistro, and Madayaw Fisheries.

Del Rosario told the court that these companies declared no dividends, or declared no information about dividends the past many, many decades.

Effectively, Del Rosario’s testimony ruled out that these companies provided the increase in Duterte’s SALN, covering the time when she was a local government executive in Davao City up until she became VP in 2022.

Duterte declared business interests in Gencorp Industries Inc. in her SALN, but her name did not appear on the firm’s official Articles of Incorporation or General Information Sheets, he said. 

Based on SEC records, Metro City Chow Foods explicitly retained her name as a board director and stockholder from 2022 to 2025, with some 500 shares, or owning a 20% stake, but the company had been in deficit. 

As such, Del Rosario theorized that the company could have either planned whatever earnings it had, if any, to reinvest in the company, or indeed the company was in the red or in the black, or the company was not operational. It made sense why it did not contribute anything to Duterte’s wealth.

Some SEC records were clear about Duterte’s involvement way before she became vice president, listing her as an incorporator, stockholder, director, or compensation executive, but her name disappeared years later. 

On interjections by senator-judges, Del Rosario theorized that Duterte might have left her share for an appointed trustee, but his department had no records of such agreement, if any, as it belonged to another SEC department.

While Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution prohibits Duterte (as well as President Marcos) from directly or indirectly participating in any business to stop conflicts of interest and the misuse of power, the SEC does not have any mandate to flag her business interests. Thus, it did not subject her to any investigation to find out if she had violated the constitution. 

Still, Del Rosario’s testimony was not enough to say Duterte’s wealth was ill-gotten, though his revelation still begged for an explanation. 

Other income that could have raised Duterte’s SALN might have come from the acquisition, disposal, including an increase in the market value, of lots and other pieces of property, including rights, memberships, shares. 

While the increases in Duterte’s net worth didn’t look unusually remarkable given a long period of coverage, the increases remained the focal point of the prosecution’s allegations.

The questions begged to be tackled soon, promptly. The panel had better prepare for the next hearing day as Day 27 drooped for the nth time, and it only had itself to blame. 

Duterte’s unexplained millions should be one of the most exciting parts of the trial, but even presiding officer Chiz Escudero and Kiko Pangilinan, both lawyers and could have been long used to certain legal technicalities, were the first to sound off what seemed Matib’s uninspired and uninspiring direct examination. 

Pangilinan stood up to show his displeasure over significant delays, including a prominent moment during the evidentiary hearings where long pauses and recesses were taken specifically for photocopying massive volumes of documents and bank records to satisfy compliance and the requirements of the senator-judges.

Pangilinan jokingly addressed the viewers and the ongoing trial on his official social media channel by acknowledging that they were moving into the "exciting part."

Private prosecutors and senators playfully teased that the trial was finally heading toward the "exciting part" after hours were lost waiting for clerical tasks like photocopying. 

Pangilinan was reported to have joined the popular internet meme, telling his followers and viewers to stay tuned and watch the livestream because—despite the tedious administrative gridlock of reproducing documents—the real meat of the cross-examinations was about to begin.

Escudero told Matib to make sure that the trial would step into the more exciting part after lunch.

So where did Duterte get all her wealth? The prosecution needs to shape up for the next hearing. Our coffee gets cold for no good reason. 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of PhilSTAR L!fe, its parent company and affiliates, or its staff.