THE husband of Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio on Sunday rejected the House prosecution’s attempt to link his personal credit card expenses to the second highest official, saying transactions discussed during the impeachment trial did not involve public funds.
Purchases in Japan, Kuala Lumpur, and the shoe-brand Nike should not be attributed to the Vice-President, Manases R. Carpio, the Philippines’ second gentleman, said in a statement.
Financial forensic analyst Alexander B. Cabrera told the impeachment court on Oct. 9 about several single-purchase credit card transactions linked to the second couple, which were flagged as unusual or suspicious.
These included two transactions in Nike SM Davao Annex Davao del Sur amounting to around P300,000, two other transactions in MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya worth about P130,000, and a single purchase in Nike Pavilion Kuala Lumpur for around P260,000.
In response, Mr. Carpio said the expenses in Japan were incurred because many participants of group trip to the country had no cash on hand, with costs later shared among the attendees.
He added that the Nike purchase in SM Davao was also a shared expense intended for senior basketball players, while those in Kuala Lumpur were for junior basketball players that won a championship in Malaysia.
“They should not be misrepresented as expenses of Vice-President Sara Duterte or linked to her official functions,” Mr. Carpio said. — Francessca S. Abalos