Sara Duterte says 'no obligation' to explain wealth

MANILA – Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday said she is under no obligation to explain the 6-fold increase in her wealth during a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017, as reported by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

Duterte-Carpio, chairperson of the regional party Hugpong ng Pagbabago and daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, said she will only explain her wealth once a case is filed questioning it.

“I suggest kung may nakita ang PCIJ doon sa investigative report na worthy of a case to be filed sa correct na venue, then doon ko masasagot,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters on the sidelines of HNP’s campaign sortie in Cotabato City.

In a report earlier this month, the PCIJ said Duterte-Carpio’s net worth, based on her statements of asset, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), grew by six times to P44.83 million in 2017 from just P7.25 million in 2017.

The PCIJ also noted that the president's wealth nearly tripled, while former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte’s more than tripled.

The PCIJ said the three Dutertes “have all consistently grown richer over the years, even on the modest salaries they have received for various public posts, and despite the negligible retained earnings reflected in the financial statements of the companies they own or co-own.”

In Duterte-Carpio’s case, the PCIJ noted that the biggest increase in her net worth year-on-year was in 2017, a year after she returned as Davao City Mayor and after her father was elected President.

Duterte-Carpio’s net worth in 2017 climbed to P44.83 million, or an increase of 28.45 percent from what she had declared the year before at P34.89 million, the PCIJ said.

Her brother, meanwhile, saw his declared net worth rise to P16.51 million in 2008 from P8.34 million just a year earlier.

LAW FIRM

The PCIJ also noted that the law firm Carpio & Duterte Lawyers was not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Duterte-Carpio explained that the law firm was not SEC-registered “because it’s not a corporation.”

The PCIJ also noted that Duterte-Carpio “has not formally, publicly declared her leave of absence from the firm” while her husband, since 2016, “has appeared as legal counsel to big companies with big cases before government regulatory agencies.”

Duterte-Carpio told reporters she has stopped practicing law since assuming her post as Davao City mayor.

The PCIJ said Duterte-Carpio and her father and brother also “belatedly disclosed their interests in certain companies, remain listed in some other as shareholders but did not disclose these in their SALNs, or are part of certain companies that are not at all registered with the SEC or the Department of Trade and Industry.”

The investigative piece revealed that the President, Sara, and Paolo have interests and engagements in a total of at least 23 corporate entities.

The PCIJ said there were inconsistencies in the information the three Dutertes put on their respective SALNs regarding the “businesses they own or co-own, and their relatives by blood and affinity who are in public positions.”

In his speeches, President Duterte would talk about his family's humble beginnings, saying he came from a poor family. He has also projected an image of a President who is not keen on living a luxurious lifestyle.

The President has blasted the PCIJ investigative piece and accused it of taking bribes in exchange for releasing the reports.

The PCIJ, for its part, said it only used the data available on the SALNs submitted by the members of the Duterte family.

• Data on family wealth came from Dutertes' SALNs, PCIJ says