Mans Carpio calls self ‘collateral damage’ in Sara Duterte trial
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, said he felt he was being targeted amid the impeachment proceedings against his wife, describing himself as “collateral damage” as the couple’s finances came under scrutiny.
Speaking at a 1Bukidnon4 Sara Duterte Movement event in Valencia City on Thursday, October 8, Carpio said he felt he was being treated unfairly.
“Medyo gidaogdaog man ta karon,” Carpio said in a video clip posted on local broadcaster RMN-Malaybalay’s Facebook page.
(I feel like I’m being persecuted a bit now.)
“Tanan sa gobyerno gigamit,” he added, saying “Murag ako ang gi-impeach da.”
(Government resources were being used…. It’s as if I’m the one who was impeached.)
Carpio described himself as “collateral damage” and said he was praying that the situation would pass.
His remarks came as the impeachment proceedings against Duterte brought the couple’s finances to public scrutiny as the trial entered its 36th day. The impeachment court continued tackling their taxes and documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Friday, October 9.
House prosecutor Keith Flores, a Bukidnon congressman, said Carpio’s inclusion in the impeachment trial was not personal, but stemmed from his marriage to Duterte. He was responding to Carpio’s remark in Bukidnon that he was “collateral damage” in the ongoing proceedings.
House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega put it more bluntly: “It’s not personal, it’s conjugal.”
Carpio and his wife’s lawyers had fought to keep the couple’s financial records out of public view, invoking confidentiality rules. Carpio had argued that he was a private citizen, and that his finances should remain private.
Carpio’s name has been repeatedly mentioned by the prosecution in its presentation of the unexplained wealth case against the Vice President.
Earlier this week, a witness from the Anti-Money Laundering Council told the court that, of the P4.4 billion in large and suspicious transactions that flowed through the couple’s bank accounts from 2007 to 2025, P749 million was attributed to Carpio alone.
The witness also said Carpio withdrew P41 million in cash through multiple over-the-counter transactions in a single day in 2024.
The findings are significant because Duterte declared minimal to zero cash on hand and in bank accounts in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) over the years.
The AMLC also said Cale88, a food company Carpio founded, received P319 million in remittances from Chinese corporations.
The company’s corporate filings no longer list him in its general information sheet as of 2025, but the BIR said it has no record of him having sold the company.– Rappler.com
