ANC: Davao City assessor Jaime Adalin takes the stand as first defense witness in VP impeachment trial
The Senate resumed the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday after a month-long break, with the defense presenting its first witness to rebut allegations that the Vice President failed to declare a property in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
Davao City Assessor Engineer Jaime Adalin testified that the property in Barangay 74-A, Matina, Davao City, cited by the prosecution was indeed declared and is registered under the name of Duterte’s husband, Atty. Manases Carpio.
Adalin presented tax declarations and property identification maps to establish the link between the actual property and the city’s records.
He explained that the Property Index Number appearing on the tax declaration corresponds with the number indicated on the tax map, which also identifies the property’s title.
Adalin confirmed that the property is covered by a Transfer Certificate of Title ending in 0775 and is located in Una Subdivision, Matina Crossing, Talomo District, Davao City.
He also told the court that Barangay 74-A and Barangay Matina Crossing refer to the same location.
The witness identified the property as having an assessed value of 82,046 pesos and a fair market value of 2.05 million pesos. He said the tax declaration reflecting the earlier valuation was canceled following the property’s sale.
However, the prosecution questioned the basis of Adalin’s identification, pointing out that the records presented did not contain a specific address.
Prosecutors also noted that a restaurant now stands on the property, despite its classification as residential in the documents.
After nearly an hour of discussion on the property’s location and identification, Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo suggested comparing the records of the spouses Duterte-Carpio to determine whether the property details match, saying the court should move on if the documents are consistent.
Several senator-judges also expressed dissatisfaction with the witness’s answers and sought the submission of the relevant property records for their own examination.
The prosecution likewise challenged Adalin’s credibility by bringing up his foreign travels, including an all-expenses-paid trip to China sponsored by the Chinese Consulate in November 2025.
When asked about the trip, Adalin initially described the question as irrelevant, drawing a rebuke from Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero.
Senator-Judge Erwin Tulfo warned the witness that he could be cited for contempt if he continued to treat the proceedings as a joke.
Tulfo also questioned how Adalin could afford his frequent overseas trips, citing records of his travels to China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia.
Adalin said a department head in the local government earns around 120,000 pesos a month.
Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, questioned why the city assessor could not recall where he had traveled in China, given his familiarity with maps and property records.
Adalin replied that he was not particularly interested in traveling and therefore did not remember the places he had visited.
At the start of Monday’s hearing, Escudero informed the court that the prosecution was deemed to have rested its case on the remaining impeachment article, following the court’s ruling on the formal offer of evidence and the defense’s comment.
The defense has initially lined up 24 witnesses for presentation this week. – ANC, The World Tonight, November 9, 2026