LAWYER Manases Carpio has filed a civil suit worth P7.3 million against persons who instigated an impeachment complaint against his wife, Vice President Sara Duterte, alleging that their “perjurious lies” have irreparably harmed his legal practice and personal reputation.
Carpio filed the complaint against priest Joel Saballa, several other individuals and the alleged bagman of Duterte, Ramil Madriaga, as well as several “co-conspirators, confederators, cooperators and connivers.” The suit claims that the defendants conspired to “blacken, degrade, destroy and harm” the political standing of the vice president, while indirectly defaming Carpio’s “unsullied reputation.” The filing comes after an impeachment complaint submitted to the House of Representatives on Feb. 9, which accused Duterte of violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, commission of other high crimes, inciting to sedition, and insurrection and betrayal of public trust.
Carpio said that Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima, “as if on cue,” appears to have immediately endorsed the defendants’ impeachment complaint as shown in her resolution dated the same day.
De Lima, while mentioned in the complaint, was not among the respondents.
Carpio said Madriaga bolstered the defendants’ case by providing perjured testimony and affidavits.
These documents, along with his April 14 statement, echoed previous lies and introduced new, false accusations against Duterte, Carpio added.
Carpio said the accusations are part of a coordinated “black propaganda” campaign intended to disqualify his wife from the 2028 presidential elections.
He cited the testimony of Madriaga, who claimed in affidavits and before the House Committee on Justice, that he delivered duffle bags containing millions of pesos in confidential funds to various locations under the vice president’s instructions.
The narratives, Carpio said, are “concocted, coached and invented lies.” The complaint said an impeachable officer can only be held liable for acts committed during their current incimbency and in relation to their official functions.
Carpio noted that the defendants acted in “bad faith” by including accusations that fell outside the legal parameters.
“Plaintiff’s law practice via his Carpio Law Office has been irreparably damaged, adversely impacted his good reputation in the legal community resulting in severe loss of income and legal opportunities,” it added.
The endorsement of the impeachment complaint on Feb. 9 and its official referral to the House Committee on Justice amplified the reputational damage through “massive invasion of privacy” and public scrutiny, Carpio said.
He is seeking P1 million in actual damages for lost income in his law practice, P3 million in moral damages for “serious anxiety” and “besmirched reputation,” and P3 million in exemplary damages to deter the “malicious weaponization” of the impeachment process, as well as P300,000 for attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.
This is the second impeachment-related suit that Carpio has filed.
On April 26, he filed a criminal complaint at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr., Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, and Representatives Gerville Luistro, Leila de Lima, Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno. The lawsuit alleges that they illegally disclosed confidential bank records during House of Representatives impeachment hearings where it was disclosed that the vice president and Carpio had P6.7 billion in bank transactions over a period of 20 years, a figure that did not appear in Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth.
