Luistro flags potential underreported profits of Duterte-linked firms

Corporate records of several companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte declared low profit margins despite reporting millions of pesos in gross income, records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed.

During the continuation of the House justice committee hearing on Duterte's impeachment case, panel chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro raised the possibility of underdeclaration of profits, with one of the corporations indicating less than 1% profit margin in its SEC declaration.

"Mayroon isang kumpanya na nagmamalaki ng gross income na daang-daang milyon ngunit ang profit margin, ay tila nakakapagtaka, ay less than 1% habang ang ibang kumpanya ay walang kita at puro net losses," Luistro, chairperson of the House panel, said in her opening speech.

(One of the companies boasted about hundreds of millions of pesos in gross profit, but it's puzzling that its corporate record shows less than 1% profit margin. Other companies, meanwhile, declared having no income and only net losses.)

Duterte's Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) showed her increasing net worth from 2019 to 2025. In 2019, the Vice President and her husband, Atty. Manases "Mans" Carpio, had a total net worth of P55 million. It grew to P56 million in 2020; P65 million in 2021; P71 million in 2022; P77 million in 2023; and P88 million in 2024.

"We also examined corporate records through the SEC. Ang bumulaga sa atin ay isang malinaw na palaisipan: Nakita natin na may kumpanyang nabanggit sa SALN na hindi naman kinikilala ang VP bilang stockholder," said Luistro.

(We also examined corporate records through the SEC. What we saw was indeed puzzling: One of the companies linked to Duterte did not list her as a stockholder.)

"Napaisip tuloy tayo na baka ang mga pangalan na nakalista ay mga anino o dummy lamang," she said.

(This raises the question whether the names listed were just shadows or dummies.)

The lawmaker also cited the SEC's previous records indicating a certain Sara Z. Duterte as a stockholder and member of the board of directors of the Davao-based Metro City Chow Foods Corporation from 2022 to 2025.

Duterte was elected vice president in 2022 and is serving a six-year term set to end in 2028.

"Bumabalik ang tanong: Maaari bang maging aktibo sa negosyo ang isang nakaupong VP? Maaari bang maging public servant sa umaga at negosyante sa gabi," Luistro said.

(The question remains: Is the VP allowed to be active on these companies while in position? Can you be a public servant and a businesswoman at the same time?)

Article VII Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution states that the President, Vice President, Cabinet members, and their deputies or assistants shall not hold any other office or employment during their tenure, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution.

It also prohibits them from practicing any profession, participating in any business, or having a financial interest in contracts, franchises, or special privileges granted by the government or its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries.

The Constitution further mandates that they must avoid conflicts of interest in the discharge of their duties. — VDV, GMA News