National security and public trust
So what’s wrong with doing business with China? How can it be a national security threat?” Vice President Sara Duterte had riposted, shortly after a prosecution witness at last week’s impeachment trial testified that Cale88 Foods Corp., a company in which Duterte’s husband had a business interest, had received P319.33 million in inward remittances from mainland China and Hong Kong.
Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros noted that, based on her investigation, the businesses that remitted money to the Davao-based company, are allegedly Chinese state-owned entities.
Duterte’s husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, was previously identified as an incorporator, stockholder, and board member of the banana chips manufacturer set up in 2021, which had a paid-up capital of only P125,000.
The revelation prompted President Marcos to warn Sunday that if proven true, the Vice President’s husband could pose a threat “at the highest level” to the Philippines. “The most disturbing aspect of it is the Chinese money. That now rises to a national security issue,” Marcos said, adding that the matter would be “thoroughly investigated.”
Front for money laundering
And rightly so.
While the Vice President noted the robust business relationship between Filipino and Chinese entrepreneurs, she seems to forget that unlike ordinary citizens engaged in business, she is the second highest official of the land. As such, she is privy to state secrets and information that could be exploited by business partners from an adversarial neighbor country. “We are talking about the sovereignty of the republic. We are talking about the safety and security of the state,” the President said.
Bank and business documents at the impeachment trial have shown Carpio as holding up to 47.5-percent stake in Cale88 before divesting in 2025. A forensic accounting expert meanwhile testified that the company’s financial statements showed dubious business operations, raising the possibility that it was just a convenient front for money laundering. Duterte’s Tapang at Malasakit Foundation also reportedly received a P150 million donation from the Chinese embassy in Manila.
Such personal dealings with China have raised suspicions on the VP’s loyalty, given her continued silence over China’s aggressive maneuvers in the West Philippine Sea. China has rejected the 2016 arbitral ruling that recognizes the Philippines’ claim over the disputed territory and has repeatedly blocked, water cannoned, bullied, and rammed Philippine military vessels, while forcibly driving away Filipino fishers within the country’s exclusive economic zone. In fact, Duterte has flipped the script entirely, chastising the Philippines for “becoming the troublemakers of Southeast Asia.”
‘Domestic politics’
China has downplayed such funding allegations as “domestic politics,” but Carpio himself seems to have realized how culpable the business would look once exposed in the impeachment court. On July 26, 2026, just three weeks after the impeachment trial opened on July 6, Cale88 effectively wound down its local operations when it closed its two bank accounts.
There’s no denying that going into business makes her accountable under Article VII, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution which states that the Vice President and other high officials “shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure … [nor] directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with … the Government or any of its subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.”
Documents shown at the impeachment trial indicated that the VP has remained a stockholder and member of the board of directors for private firms such as Metro City Chow Foods Corp. and Gencorp Industries Inc. despite assuming office in 2022. House prosecutors also presented Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) receipts indicating her continued practice of law-related activities.
Red flags
Duterte also violated Article IX-B, Section 8 of the Constitution, which prohibits elective or appointive public officials or employees from receiving additional, double, or indirect compensation unless a distinct law specifically authorizes it. As indicated in BIR forms presented by the prosecution panel, Davao City’s local government had listed the VP as an employee and paid her compensation of up to P2.36 million in 2023.
For sure, the impeachment trial is still ongoing, and has yet to issue its verdict on the VP. But her business partnership with a country hostile to Philippine interests, its sizable funding and donation to her personal accounts, and her flagrant disregard for constitutional provisions meant to curb the abuse of political power and influence are red flags that should not be ignored.
As House prosecutor Chel Diokno pointed out, this matter is about “the trust that the people [have] reposed [on the Vice President] … It’s really about accountability, the [expectation] that if you abuse your position, you should be held responsible.”
Public office is a public trust, after all.
