VP trial: Analyst stands by ₱1.049B gap in GenCorp reporting

MANILA, Philippines —Lawyer Alexander Cabrera, a forensic financial analyst, stood by his report on Monday identifying unreported financial transactions involving companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, as a case of “nonreporting” — not “supposed fraud,” as defense lawyer Kristine Ferrer described them.

The transactions in question include a ₱1.049-billion gap in GenCorp’s inflows, which Ferrer tackled, along with Metro City Chow Foods Corp. and Cale88 Foods Corp., during her cross-examination of Cabrera on the 38th day of Duterte’s impeachment trial,

Cabrera, who had examined financial documents related to the three companies, was testifying in relation to the alleged undeclared assets and unexplained wealth of Duterte and her husband.

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According to a summary issued by the House prosecution, when Ferrer described the basis of his corporate analysis as “supposed fraud,” Cabrera answered: “It’s not supposed fraud. It’s nonreporting.”

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His response prompted Ferrer to focus her questioning on the differences he identified between company bank movements and financial disclosures. Ferrer challenged his interpretation of those differences and the ownership percentages used to connect company figures to the spouses.

READ: VP Duterte’s ₱817.87-M wealth review covers assets, income, 3 firms

Carpio’s ‘advances’

The defense also questioned his treatment of advances in Cale88, asking whether he had examined loan agreements or supporting transaction records. Cabrera identified the company’s financial statements as his source and acknowledged that he had no loan documents, saying the amounts were “advances.”

Asked about access to the company’s internal records and books of account, he answered: “Only the financial statements.”

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Ferrer then walked him through the advances attributed to Carpio in his report:

• ₱8.7 million in 2022
• ₱9.5 million in 2023
• ₱11.1 million in 2024
• ₱9.5 million in 2025

Cabrera confirmed the figures.

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According to him, those amounts were estimates based on applying Carpio’s 47.5-percent ownership share to the company’s reported advances.

“They were not presented as amounts traced through individual loan agreements signed by Carpio. The company-level entry and the portion attributed to a shareholder were separate steps in the computation,” the House prosecution statement said.

That distinction also ran through Ferrer’s questions about income associated with Metro City Chow and GenCorp.

‘Equity balances’

Ferrer asked Cabrera why he attributed those amounts to Duterte even without a declaration of dividends, referring to his decision to look beyond the companies’ separate corporate identities in his analysis.

“Using the equity balances,” Cabrera answered.

This, he said, was the approach he used to examine the three companies.

“The testimony described the method used in his forensic report, rather than a court order resolving the companies’ corporate status,” the prosecution statement pointed out.

Cabrera used Duterte’s recorded 20-percent Metro City Chow stake, an attributed 20-percent GenCorp interest, and Carpio’s 47.5-percent Cale88 share. The report separates company-level comparisons from the portions assigned to the spouses using those percentages.

The financial comparisons were based on audited financial statements covering the years from 2022 to 2025.

Cabrera’s report showed the following differences:

Metro City Chow

• Net bank inflows: ₱240,610,273
• Financial statement inflows: ₱142,222,194
• Difference: ₱98,388,079

Cale88

• Net bank inflows: ₱247,309,180
• Financial statement inflows: ₱211,993,545 (included ₱3.5 million in financing cash flow, alongside revenue)
• Difference: ₱35,315,635

GenCorp

• Net bank inflows: ₱2,580,160,214
• Financial statement inflows: ₱1,530,938,302
• Difference: ₱1,049,221,912

The GenCorp total included a negative ₱13,926,675 difference in 2022, followed by positive differences in 2023, 2024, and 2025. It was a company-level comparison, not ₱1.049 billion shown as Duterte’s personal bank balance.

READ: Witness: VP’s unexplained wealth may be as high as P1.5B

Near the end of the examination, Ferrer asked about the tax code provision concerning underdeclarations exceeding 30 percent. Cabrera confirmed the provision discussed. Ferrer also asked whether only a court could affirm or dismiss a finding of tax evasion or fraud.

Cabrera agreed, acknowledging that he was unaware of a judgment against the spouses for those offenses.

The cross-examination addressed both the report’s financial basis and its limits. Cabrera acknowledged missing internal documents but insisted that the records he did examine supported his findings.

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When Ferrer called those findings his opinion, he pointed back to their sources, saying: “Findings from the numbers.” /atm