On Day 35 (October 7), Security Bank's Leslie Cham testified that Cale88 Foods Corp. closed its two checking accounts in July 2026 (GMA News, Daily Tribune). AMLC records show ₱319,326,770.41 in remittances to the firm, ₱315.94 million from China and ₱3.39 million from Hong Kong, from four Chinese companies (Tribune, Context.ph). Hontiveros said some have state or party ties; the defense disputes this. The AMLC director said he did not testify that the Chinese government sent the money and that no evidence showed Duterte or Carpio personally benefited. The NSC said it would look into the flows (Tribune, Newswav). A BPI official testified a joint account's documents lacked Sara Duterte's signature.
The vice president's unexplained wealth is the core of the case. Foreign money tied to a family firm raises both a legal question and a national security question, but neither has been decided.
The trial shapes the 2028 election field. Treat testimony as claims being tested, not verdicts.
Closed accounts and foreign remittances raise questions that deserve answers under oath.
Reported transactions are not proof of crime, no direct benefit has been shown, and the defense calls the case political.
Three things remain unproven: who the real senders were, what the money was for, and whether any of it reached the Dutertes. Watch the defense's own witnesses and any NSC findings.
GMA News, Daily Tribune, Philstar, Newswav, Context.ph, Inquirer (Oct 6-8, 2026)
Bank witness says firm tied to Sara Duterte's husband closed both accounts in July; NSC studies China-linked remittances
The AMLC has told the court it did not say the Chinese government sent the money, and found no evidence it personally benefited the vice president. Day 35 also heard defense claims on a joint account.
A Security Bank official told the Senate impeachment court on Day 35, Wednesday, October 7, that both checking accounts of Cale88 Foods Corp. were closed in July 2026, GMA News and the Daily Tribune reported. Leslie Cham, the bank's branch banking head, answered questions from Sen. Francis Pangilinan. The accounts were opened in August 2024 and October 2025, and the closures came in the same month the trial began, as senator-judges noted. Cale88 is a business interest of lawyer Manases Carpio, the vice president's husband.
The firm is at the center of testimony on ₱319.3 million in inward remittances, of which ₱315.94 million came from mainland China and ₱3.39 million from Hong Kong, according to AMLC records cited in the Tribune. Sen. Risa Hontiveros said some of the four Chinese remitters have state or party ties, which the defense disputes. The AMLC executive director said he did not testify that the Chinese government directly sent the money, and no evidence has been shown that the funds personally benefited Duterte or Carpio. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked whether ₱776 million in inflows to a company with only ₱125,000 in paid-up capital could indicate money laundering; the AMLC said it would first need to identify a predicate crime.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Oban Jr. said the National Security Council would look into the information and task intelligence and investigative agencies to judge whether it carries security implications (Tribune, Newswav). Separately, the Tribune reported that a BPI branch official testified that documents on a joint account with Rodrigo Duterte did not bear Sara Duterte's signature, a point the defense stressed. Duterte denies wrongdoing.