Mans Carpio files complaints vs lawmakers over disclosure of his, VP Sara Duterte's bank records

Atty. Manases 'Mans' Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, filed several complaints against the House justice committee members over alleged violation of several laws due to the disclosure of the bank transaction records of himself and the vice president.

Carpio’s legal representatives filed the complaints alleging violations of Anti Money Laundering law, Bank Secrecy law and Data Privacy Act of 2012 before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office, although it was unclear as to when they filed the said supplemental complaint.

Carpio already earlier sued House justice panel chairperson Gerville Luistro of Batangas, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima of ML party-list and House Assistant Minority Leader Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list for the same alleged offenses.

The supplemental complaint however was only known to the public on Friday, July 31, since the respondents in the complaint filed their counter-affidavit answering the complaint that day.

Manila 3rd District Representative Joel Chua, one of the public prosecutors for the ongoing impeachment trial of Duterte, said such complaints from Carpio are mere harassment amid the ongoing impeachment trial of his wife.

“This marks the first time that a complaint is filed against someone for not opposing the disclosure of bank transactions and making a manifestation. So I would say this complaint is unusual. How is that a criminal act? Of course, hindi naman po tayo magpapatinag sa ganitong klaseng mga harassment,” Chua, a lawyer, said.

(We are unfazed amid this harassment.)

House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio, also one of the respondents in the complaint, said Carpio’s maneuver reeks of desperation.

“This is pure harassment and a desperate attempt of Mans Carpio and the vice president para hadlangan ang katotohanan. Unfortunately for the vice president ay nasa Senate impeachment court, ang mga AMLC at bank records. Kaya darating na, malapit na ang araw, na lalabas na ang buong katotohanan tungkol sa P6.7 billion na transaksiyon at sa undeclared wealth ng vice presidente,” Tinio added, referring to the bank transactions of the Vice President and her husband as reported by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

(This is pure harassment and a desperate attempt of Mans Carpio and the vice president to cover up the truth. Unfortunately for the vice president, the AMLC and bank records are already with the Senate impeachment court. So the day is getting nearer when the whole truth regarding the P6.7 billion transaction and undeclared wealth of the vice president will come out.)

Kabataan Party-list Representative Renee Co, also a member of the House prosecution team, on the other hand agreed that such complaints are diversionary tactics on the part of Carpio and the vice president.

“This is not just harassment. These are delaying tactics to stop the truth from coming out. At the end of the day, it is the Vice President who has to answer this question: Where did you spend the confidential funds which are public funds?” Co, a lawyer like Chua and a spokesperson for the House prosecution team, added.

The Articles of Impeachment approved by the House for Senate action accuses the Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery and other high crimes, based on the following acts:

a) systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief;

b) amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official;

c) failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;

d) failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;

e) giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws; and

f) contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker of the House and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.

Items a, e and f constitute Articles 1, 3 and 4, while items b, c and d are all subsections of Article 2 of the Articles of Impeachment.

The vice president has maintained that the impeachment case against her should be dismissed for lack of evidence, and that her supposed threat to kill Marcos and his family members are just part of her right to freedom of expression. —KG, GMA News