FORMER Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has accused Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, of receiving more than P400 million from the Chinese government and Chinese corporations.
In a press conference on Friday, October 2, 2026, Trillanes said based on their research, bank accounts linked to Calle 88 Foods Corp., which Carpio partly owned, received a total of P319 million from China from 2021 to 2024.
He also said Duterte’s Tapang at Malasakit Foundation received a total of P150 million in donations from the Chinese government in 2019 for the construction of 13 classroom buildings.
He refused to divulge further information about the matter, saying it would soon be discussed in the impeachment trial of Duterte.
“Abangan ninyo po, makukumpirma yan lalabas ilang mga kumpanya merong mga state-owned company from China papasok directly sa negosyo o kumpanya ni Mans Carpio. Maliwanag ang mga red flags (Watch out for this. It will be confirmed that several companies, including some state-owned companies from China, will be entering directly into the business or company of Mans Carpio. The red flags are clear).” Trillanes said.
“Lahat yan makukumpirma it would be boring but it will be explosive at the same time (Everything will be confirmed. It would be boring, but it will be explosive at the same time),” he added.
Trillanes also accused members of the Duterte family, including former president Rodrigo Duterte, his sons Paolo and Sebastian, youngest daughter Veronica and common-law wife Cielito Avancena, of receiving a total of P181,653,487.36 from alleged drug lord Samuel “Sammy” Uy.
Here is the breakdown of how much each member of the Duterte family allegedly received from Uy, according to Trillanes:
Rodrigo Duterte — P15,656,692.14 (from November 2011 to April 2013)
Sara Duterte — P22,322,538.21 (from March 2011 to April 2012)
Paolo “Polong” Duterte — P38,814,437.56 (from March 2011 to October 2012)
Sebastian “Baste” Duterte — P51,582,958.90 (from March 2011 to April 2013)
Cielito “Honeylet” Avancena/Veronica “Kitty” Duterte — P53,276,860.55 (from March 2011 to April 2013).
Trillanes said these were the information he intended to present before the impeachment court.
On Thursday, October 1, the House prosecution permanently dropped Trillanes from its list of witnesses.
Trillanes said the prosecution had requested subpoenas and that his name was initially included in the list. However, when the subpoenas came back, his name was the only one missing.
He questioned whether the impeachment court or its presiding officer had the authority to remove his name from the subpoena list.
“Meron bang power na ganyan ang impeachment court? May power ba ang presiding officer? They don’t have that power kasi diskarte ng prosecution ito. Do not second guess kung ano ba ang itetestify niyan, pakinggan mo muna (Does the impeachment court have that kind of power? Does the presiding officer have that power? They don’t have that power because this is the prosecution’s strategy. Do not second-guess what I will testify about; listen first),” he said.
Trillanes said that if he were merely an ordinary witness who was not personally known to the presiding officer, his inclusion in the prosecution’s list should not have been an issue. He said he felt that he was not welcome in the impeachment court.
“Bantayan ninyo ang presiding officer, yan ang sinasabi ko (Keep an eye on the presiding officer, that’s what I’m saying),” Trillanes said.
The trial was paused on Friday, October 2, amid debates over the confidentiality of bank records and financial transactions raised by the defense. The presentation of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura was subsequently moved to Monday, October 5.
Aside from Trillanes, the House prosecution was also supposed to present Buenaventura.
Trillanes said all the transactions he presented during the press conference are also in the list of the AMLC. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)