Mans Carpio says questioned credit card transactions were personal expenses, not linked to VP Duterte

MANILA — Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio said on Saturday that credit card transactions raised during the impeachment proceedings against his wife, Vice President Sara Duterte, were personal expenditures paid using his own funds and should not be associated with the vice president or her official duties. 

In a statement, Carpio denied allegations suggesting that the expenses were connected to public funds, maintaining that the transactions involved private spending for specific purposes.

“There is nothing illegal about spending my own hard-earned money. No public funds were used for these personal expenses,” Carpio said. 

Carpio stressed that he personally shouldered the transactions through his own credit card and that Duterte had no participation in or connection to the expenditures. 

“Vice President Sara Duterte had nothing to do with these expenditures and was not present when they were incurred,” he said.

Addressing expenses incurred in Japan, Carpio said the charges stemmed from a trip involving a large group, during which he used his credit card to pay for expenses because several participants did not have cash available at the time. 

He said the costs were later divided among the members of the group.

“The expenses in Japan were incurred during a trip with a large group. Since many of us did not have cash on hand at the time, I used my credit card to settle the expenses, and we shared the cost among ourselves,” Carpio explained.

He also said purchases from a sportswear brand were intended for senior basketball players and were likewise shared expenses. Expenses incurred in Kuala Lumpur, meanwhile, were related to a championship-winning junior basketball team, he added.

Carpio said the transactions should be assessed based on the actual circumstances surrounding them, including the source of funds used and their intended purpose, rather than assumptions linking them to the vice president. 

“These were personal expenditures made with my own money for specific purposes. They should not be misrepresented as expenses of Vice President Sara Duterte or linked to her official functions,” he said.

Carpio maintained that the primary issue was whether the expenditures were paid using personal resources or government funds. 

“The issue is straightforward: these were my personal expenses, paid for with my own resources, and not with public funds,” Carpio said.

He also urged the public to evaluate the transactions based on facts and context. 

“Any discussion of these transactions should be based on the actual circumstances, the source of the money, and the purpose of the expenditures—not on insinuations that have no factual basis,” he said.

Carpio further warned against the disclosure of personal financial records, saying such information could be used to damage an individual’s reputation.

“We are now treading on dangerous grounds where your personal credit card expenses can be made public or disclosed by questionable subpoenas and will be used as propaganda or throw shade at your character and integrity,” he said.