Davao City assessor says Matina property is the P10-M asset in VP Duterte's SALN

The Davao City assessor told the Senate impeachment court on Monday that a P6-million property in Matina is the same asset listed as worth P10 million in Vice President Sara Duterte's 2024 statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), according to GMA News. Prosecutors had alleged that she left the Matina property out of her SALN.

Engineer Jaime Adalin was the defense panel's first witness on Day 40 of the trial. Under questioning by defense lawyer Atty. Lindon Bacquel, and later by presiding officer Senator-Judge Francis "Chiz" Escudero, he confirmed that the property they discussed is the one declared in the SALN. That entry, located in Barangay 74-A, carries an assessed value of P82,046 and a fair market value of P2,051,150.

Adalin said he based his conclusion on a tax declaration presented in court. "The tax declaration was cancelled after the sale," he said. He added that Matina Crossing and Barangay 74-A are the same barangay. He cited the city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan and photographs at the barangay office, and said this was common knowledge in the area.

Escudero asked why the SALN listed P10 million when the deed of sale showed a P6-million purchase price. "I'm not actually aware, sir," Adalin replied. The prosecution objected to Bacquel's closing question on whether the non-disclosure allegation was untrue, and Escudero sustained the objection.

On October 1, prosecution witness Kathy Florence Baldonado of the Davao City Registry of Deeds testified that, based on the deed of sale, the property did not appear in Duterte's SALN for the end of 2024. The property was reportedly bought by Duterte's husband, Atty. Manases Carpio.

Escudero said he had reviewed the Vice President's SALN and did not find the property among her declared real properties. He also noted that SALN declarations have limits, saying the areas listed are too generic to identify, GMA News reported.