Mans Carpio’s P200,000 restaurant bill could feed 3 barangays – Ridon

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutor, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon, on Tuesday questioned the more than P200,000 restaurant bill allegedly charged to the credit card of lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, saying the amount covering a single meal could already feed residents of three barangays.

Carpio is the husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing the Senate impeachment court on allegations of unexplained wealth and nondisclosure of assets.

Ridon said the House prosecution is prepared to question the Vice President’s defense witnesses about the credit card transactions when the impeachment trial resumes Nov. 9.

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READ: Ridon to Carpio’s massive shoe bill: Only oligarchs are sports patrons

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“Pero alam po ninyo, P200,000; tatlong barangay na sa Manila at Batangas ’yung pwedeng pakainin ng P200,000,” Ridon said at a press briefing.

He said the expense was difficult for ordinary Filipinos to imagine, even for those major family celebrations such as weddings, debuts, and milestone birthdays.

“Kasi alam po ninyo, ’yung P200,000 na pagkain sa labas, hindi ma-imagine ng ordinaryong Pilipino ’yon,” Ridon said.

“Kahit po merong pagsasaya, ’yung pong mga kababayan po natin, merong debut, merong kasal, meron pong 60th birthday ng isa pong senior natin, umaabot po ba ’yun ng P200,000 para sa pagsasaya (nila)?” he asked.

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Ridon was referring to a P205,000 credit card transaction at Ginza Inakaya, a restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, which was among the expenditures found and examined during the prosecution’s presentation of evidence on Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth.

Carpio earlier explained that the restaurant bill was incurred during a group trip to Japan, when he used his credit card to pay because several companions did not have cash on hand.

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He maintained that the group subsequently shared the expenses and that no public funds were involved.

Ridon acknowledged Carpio’s explanation but said the prosecution would seek further clarification.

“Samantalang ito po, ’yung P200,000 sa credit card purchase ni Atty. Mans Carpio, isang kain lang po ito sa labas. Ang paliwanag nila, marami naman daw po sila,” he said.

Ridon argued that the expenditure highlighted the difference between the lifestyle of the Duterte-Carpio couple and that of ordinary Filipinos.

“So ang pagpapakita po nito, iba po ’yung buhay ng mag-asawang Duterte-Carpio doon po sa buhay ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino,” he said.

The restaurant bill was among several credit card transactions examined by forensic accounting expert Alexander Cabrera during his Oct. 9 testimony.

Other questioned purchases included approximately P300,000 in Nike transactions in Davao City and P256,882.50 at a Nike store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Carpio has maintained that the purchases were personal expenses paid using his own money, including shared expenditures for basketball players.

The prosecution has completed its presentation on Article II, involving allegations of unexplained wealth and financial disclosure violations against Duterte.

Cabrera earlier identified approximately P817.87 million in allegedly unexplained wealth involving Duterte and Carpio from 2022 to 2025, findings disputed by the defense.

Ridon said the prosecution was preparing to scrutinize the defense’s explanations, not only about the credit card transactions but also about the operations of Cale88 Foods Corp., a banana chip exporter linked to Carpio.

“Pero again, hindi lang po kami naghahanda doon sa banana chips. Naghahanda rin po kami doon sa paliwanag nila doon sa credit card,” he said.

“At antay natin ’yung paliwanag nila dito po sa mga credit card transactions po na ito,” Ridon added.

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The impeachment trial is scheduled to resume Nov. 9, when Duterte’s defense team is expected to begin presenting its witnesses. /cb