The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is planning to examine the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte as it continues investigating alleged discrepancies in the declared properties of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio.
In the report by RH Jecelle Ricafort, NBI Director Atty. Melvin Matibag said the bureau would review the congressman’s declared assets, while maintaining that Duterte owns the mansion adjacent to the Casas Con Vistas Resort on Samal Island.
Matibag questioned why the resort’s owner was reacting to the bureau’s statements, emphasizing that the property being discussed was the neighboring mansion allegedly owned by the lawmaker.
Meanwhile, Matibag identified three other properties allegedly involving discrepancies in the SALN of the Vice President and Carpio.
One of these is Prime Bistro, which Matibag said was declared with an acquisition cost of ₱10 million but a fair market value of only ₱82,000. He said the building alone was valued at around ₱4.5 million, while the land was estimated to be worth ₱9.5 million.
The NBI chief also cited a property in Barangay Don Bosco, Parañaque City, whose SALN entries allegedly listed a fair market value of ₱240,000, a building value of ₱461,760, and an acquisition cost of ₱2.2 million. Matibag said a subsequent assessment placed the property's value at ₱14.4 million.
Another property involves five lots in Andanao, Samal, which Matibag said were declared with a combined acquisition cost of ₱9 million. He claimed their assessed value reached ₱19.5 million, excluding improvements that he alleged were not declared.
“These are several of the many [properties] they listed in the SALN,” Matibag said, adding that the bureau would disclose additional properties in the coming days.
The NBI director argued that the couple should directly address the properties and the alleged discrepancies in their declarations rather than diverting the discussion to other issues.
“Ang tamang argumento rito, sabihin nila ... hindi sa amin 'yan. Ito 'yung property talaga,” Matibag said, urging the couple to clarify whether the properties belonged to them.
He also maintained that the declarations in the couple’s own SALNs should be considered alongside the evidence gathered by investigators, unless they dispute the authenticity of the documents.
The NBI has previously submitted a referral to the Office of the Ombudsman concerning alleged discrepancies in Vice President Sara Duterte’s SALN. The allegations remain subject to further investigation and verification.
