Duterte's SALNs list property in nonexistent Davao del Norte barangay
MANILA, Philippines — A property declared by Vice President Sara Duterte in her asset disclosures is listed under a barangay that does not exist in Samal, Davao del Norte.
Samal Assessor John Kenneth Enumerables, the second defense witness, testified on Tuesday, November 10 that the property, covered by a transfer certificate of title ending in 3134, was listed under "Barangay Matanos" in Duterte's Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
But the city's tax records place the property in Barangay San Isidro. Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero questioned the witness about the conflicting locations.
"May barangay po ba na Matanos sa Samal?" Escudero asked. ("Is there a barangay called Matanos in Samal?")
"Wala po," Enumerables replied. ("There is none.")
Escudero also asked whether the two locations were the same, which Enumerables denied.
The assessor explained that he had identified the property based on its assessed and market values.
Discrepancy traced to older title
Escudero then referred to the October 1 testimony of Marco Pineda, deputy Register of Deeds of Samal, who had previously addressed the property's location.
According to Escudero, Pineda testified that the Barangay Matanos address had been carried over from the property's mother title, the original land title from which subsequent titles were derived.
Escudero explained that under Presidential Decree 1529, the Register of Deeds cannot alter the original location details and must instead carry them over to subsequent titles.
Duterte's 2019 SALN listed a residential lot in Barangay Matanos, Kaputian District, Samal, with a reported acquisition cost of P4.04 million.
The property had an assessed value of P52,500 and was declared as acquired in 2013.
Prosecution counsel Benjamin Tolosa noted the property also appeared in Duterte's SALNs for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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