VP trial: Prosecution witness Cabrera defends credentials as defense probes qualifications

MANILA – The House prosecution’s forensic accounting expert on Monday stood by his qualifications to examine Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth despite questions from the defense about his professional background and lack of experience handling graft and ill-gotten wealth cases in court.

Tax lawyer Alexander Cabrera, chairman emeritus of Isla Lipana & Co. (PwC Philippines), maintained that he is qualified as a forensic accounting expert during cross-examination by defense counsel Kristine Ferrer on Day 38 of Duterte’s Senate impeachment trial.

Ferrer questioned whether Cabrera could consider himself a forensic accounting expert despite spending most of his career in taxation and only about a year as an external auditor.

“That’s right,” Cabrera replied.

Cabrera explained that fraud examinations often required expertise from different departments of an accounting firm, including taxation and assurance services.

“Ang tax po, ang broader assurance, at kung sinuman po ’yung expert na kailangan po, nagtutulong-tulong po kami. ’Yan po ’yung ibig sabihin na hindi po siya siloed (In tax, the broader assurance, and whichever expert is needed, we all work together. That is what it means to not be siloed or working in isolation from each other),” he said.

He also rejected Ferrer’s suggestion that his work as a tax lawyer mainly involved representing clients before government agencies, explaining that his responsibilities included mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and consulting.

The defense also questioned Cabrera about his lack of previous court appearances in cases involving graft, plunder, malversation, and unexplained wealth.

Cabrera acknowledged that he had not handled such cases as a lawyer but maintained that he understood the applicable laws.

“Hindi pa po, pero lahat po ng elements nito alam po, kahit po ng estudyante (Not yet, but all its elements are known, even to students),” Cabrera said when asked about cases involving Republic Act (RA) 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“Gusto ko lang po masabi na hindi po mahirap basahin ’yung batas (What I want to say is that the law is not hard to understand),” he added.

Cabrera also confirmed that he began his forensic examination in June 2026 using documents from the House impeachment proceedings.

He said additional financial records from banks, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reached him around September.

The defense also raised questions about possible confidentiality violations involving the financial records, but Cabrera said his responsibility was to examine the documents received through the prosecution.

He also maintained that his responsibility does not include determining whether officials who furnished them had violated confidentiality laws.

“I’m not scared naman po,” Cabrera told Ferrer when she discussed possible penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for breaches of confidentiality under anti-money laundering laws.

Ferrer cited provisions of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the Bank Secrecy Law, and the National Internal Revenue Code governing the disclosure of confidential financial information.

She repeatedly questioned whether Cabrera had concerns about receiving the records without prior authorization from the Senate impeachment court.

Cabrera said he believed he could accept the AMLC documents because the matter had already been discussed during the House impeachment proceedings.

On the bank records, Cabrera invoked Section 8 of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which addresses the acquisition of property manifestly disproportionate to a public official’s lawful income.

He pointed out that bank deposits may be considered in examining such discrepancies.

When questioned about the confidentiality of BIR records, Cabrera reiterated that his role was to examine and analyze the documents received.

House prosecutor Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno also intervened during the exchange to clarify Cabrera’s earlier testimony on when he received the bank records.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero allowed Cabrera to answer the defense’s questions but said further explanations could be tackled up during redirect examination.

Cabrera earlier testified that his forensic examination uncovered approximately PHP817.87 million in alleged unexplained wealth involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, from 2022 to 2025.

The findings form part of the House prosecution’s evidence under Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth and violations of statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth disclosure requirements.

The defense’s questions did not result in a ruling during the exchange on whether the financial records had been improperly disclosed. (PNA)