ANC: Defense presents Samal City assessor to verify VP Duterte’s declared property

The defense presented another city assessor on Tuesday to support its claim that Vice President Sara Duterte declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) a property in Samal City registered under her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio.

Island Garden City of Samal Assessor Engineer John Kenneth Enumerables took the witness stand on the 41st day of Duterte’s impeachment trial.

Like Davao City Assessor Jaime Adalin, who testified on Monday, Enumerables brought tax declarations, a tax map and other documents to identify the property.

Asked by Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero whether the property identified in the documents matched the one declared in Duterte’s SALN, Enumerables answered in the affirmative, citing similarities in their market and assessed values.

However, senator-judges flagged discrepancies in the property’s location.

Enumerables said the official records of the Samal City Assessor’s Office placed the property in Barangay San Isidro.

But the term “Matanos” also appeared in the property documents. Escudero pointed out that Matanos was not a barangay in Samal, but a sitio or purok associated with another barangay.

Enumerables said he had no personal knowledge of the specific location.

Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo questioned the assessor’s apparent uncertainty, saying he should be familiar with the areas covered by his office.

The prosecution maintained that the property was undeclared, arguing that the details in the SALN did not match the information in the property’s deed of sale and other records.

Escudero also expressed confusion over the conflicting barangay entries in the documents.

The deed of sale and the field appraisal report identified the property as being in Barangay San Isidro, while the transfer certificate of title (TCT) ending in 3134 indicated Matanos. The canceled title previously issued to Philinvest also carried the Matanos location.

Enumerables explained that he identified the property based on its technical description.

Defense lawyer Lindon Bacquel, meanwhile, said the location indicated in a certificate of title could not simply be changed without a court order, even if the property’s actual location had since been updated. He said tax declarations, on the other hand, were within the control of the city assessor’s office.

Senator-judge Bam Aquino also raised discrepancies in the property’s declared acquisition date and purchase price.

Duterte’s SALN indicated that the property was acquired in 2013, while the deed of sale reflected 2018.

The prosecution also pointed out differences between the declared acquisition cost of P4.04 million and the deed of sale price of around P3.45 million.

Enumerables explained that acquisition cost could include expenses incurred in purchasing a property, including costs related to transferring its title.

The presiding officer noted that the property had been purchased through installments and was declared only after it had been fully paid.

Escudero said the differences in acquisition costs involving the properties flagged in Davao City and Samal did not automatically indicate irregularities.

The defense argued that acquisition cost covered not only the purchase price but also taxes and other expenses related to the transaction.

However, Escudero questioned whether these additional expenses could account for the entire difference, saying the amount still appeared significantly higher than the purchase price plus the applicable transfer taxes and fees.

Prosecution lawyer Benjamin Tolosa Jr. argued that even after accounting for these expenses, the figures still did not match the acquisition cost declared in the SALN.

He said this supported the prosecution’s position that the property identified by the assessor was different from the one declared by the Vice President.

Lead defense counsel Sheila Sison challenged the prosecution to present another set of tax declarations, deeds of absolute sale and registration documents to prove that the property declared in the SALN was a different one.

She said the prosecution had failed to do so, describing its argument as “hairsplitting.”

Tuesday’s proceedings began with a warning from senator-judges against witnesses who might lie or make a mockery of the impeachment trial.

Senator-judge Panfilo Lacson raised the matter following Adalin’s testimony the previous day, saying the witness had smirked and laughed during questioning.

Lacson reminded witnesses that the Impeachment Court had the express power to cite individuals for contempt.

Escudero also disclosed that Adalin had yet to fulfill his commitment to submit a list of all properties registered under the names of the Duterte-Carpio couple.

The presiding officer added that Adalin had also yet to provide the name of the travel agency that handled his trip to China last year.

The defense presented Enumerables to support its position that the property in Samal City had been properly declared in the Vice President’s SALN, while the prosecution continued to question whether the property records referred to the same asset. – ANC, The World Tonight, November 10, 2026