MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, has filed a criminal complaint for perjury against former senator Antonio Trillanes IV before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Pasig City.
The complaint stemmed from an 11-page notarized statement Trillanes submitted on April 22, 2026, before the House of Representatives' Committee on Justice during an impeachment inquiry against the vice president..
In the affidavit, Trillanes alleged that Carpio and his wife maintained joint bank accounts amounting to P111,634,144.05 as of April 2016, and linked the funds to alleged drug-related transactions, naming an individual identified as “Sammy Uy.”
Carpio denied the allegations, calling them false, malicious, and part of a smear campaign against his family.
“To reiterate, I do not have P100 million in my bank accounts. I have vehemently denied and continue to deny any involvement in illegal drugs in any form. I also deny receiving any drug money or proceeds from any alleged drug personality, including Sammy Uy,” Carpio said in his affidavit.
He also cited previous findings, including the 2017 Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Report 168 and a 2018 Ombudsman fact-finding report, which he said cleared him and his brother-in-law, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, of previous drug-related accusations due to lack of evidence.
The complaint argued that Trillanes committed perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act 11594, by allegedly making false statements under oath on a material matter before a competent authority.
Carpio’s camp also invoked jurisprudence, citing the Supreme Court en banc ruling in Garrido vs. Gadon, to argue that sworn statements based on hearsay and lacking personal knowledge may give rise to perjury liability when presented as factual assertions.
“He failed to present any proof that the alleged bank accounts exist or that any funds came from illegal sources,” Carpio said, adding that the claims were “hearsay and double hearsay.”
In his affidavit, Carpio further described Trillanes’ allegations as politically motivated and damaging to his family’s reputation.
