by Daniel Long

 

The controversy surrounding Cale88 Foods Corp. has become one of those political stories where a financial trail is being reduced to a very simple headline: “₱319 million from the Chinese government to the Dutertes.”

That oversimplification strips the story of its important context. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has confirmed that approximately ₱319.33 million in remittances from China and Hong Kong entered Cale88 Foods Corp. But AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura also testified under questioning that the AMLC’s records do not show that China, as a country, or the Chinese government itself funnelled those funds to Cale88.

During Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura confirmed that Cale88 received ₱319,326,770.41 in aggregate inward remittances from China and Hong Kong. The AMLC’s figures indicated that approximately ₱315.93 million came from mainland China, while approximately ₱3.39 million came from Hong Kong.

According to Buenaventura’s testimony, the AMLC records presented in the impeachment proceedings did not establish that the money sent by the entities represented the Chinese Government.

During cross-examination, defense lawyer Mark Vinluan specifically asked whether AMLC records showed that the China-based entities that transacted with Cale88 represented China or the Chinese government. Buenaventura replied that, as far as he recalled and based on the records, there was no such showing.

He was then asked whether AMLC records showed that China, as a country, funnelled funds to Cale88. Again, he said there was no such showing in the records. The narrative against Vice President Sara Duterte and China completely collapsed under scrutiny.

CALE88 IS A LEGITIMATE BUSINESS

Cale88 is a food-export business. Its activities include the international sale of banana chips and other food products. Exporters routinely receive payments from foreign companies. If a Philippine company exports products to China, our fourth-largest trading partner, it should not be surprising that money subsequently travels from China into the Philippine company’s bank
accounts. That’s basic international commerce.

CALE88 EXPORTS TO CHINA, OTHER COUNTRIES

There is evidence that Cale88 actually exported products to China. Bilyonaryo News Channel reviewed Bureau of Customs export records involving Cale88 and found that the company had transactions with 13 Chinese companies between 2023 and 2026. Those exports had a combined customs value of approximately ₱217.3 million.

Cale88 wasn’t only doing business with China. According to Bilyonaryo’s review, Cale88 exported sweetened banana chips to countries including Lithuania, Romania, Russia, South Africa, and Ukraine during 2024 and 2025. Those non-China exports had a combined customs value of approximately ₱29.3 million.

The company had international customers outside China. It had documented exports, commercial activity, and actual Chinese buyers. CALE88 Foods Corporation participated in the Winter Fancy Food Show 2025, which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company was selected by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) to showcase Filipino specialty food products like its homemade banana chips to the American market.

CHINA IS PH’S TOP TRADING PARTNER

In 2025, China supplied US$38.44 billion of Philippine imports, equivalent to 28.6% of total Philippine imports, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Philippine-China merchandise trade reached approximately US$47.75 billion, consisting of about US$9.31 billion in Philippine exports and US$38.44 billion in imports.

Finance Secretary Go has also described China as the Philippines’ most important trading partner, noting that it is the country’s largest source of imports and fourth-largest export market. He has also said that the economic team wants to deepen the country’s trade and investment relationship with China.

SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS ARE NOT ILLEGAL

Those who see the term “Suspicious Transaction Report” and think that, because it contains the word “suspicious,” it is proof of criminal activity are wrong. AMLC records included covered transaction reports and suspicious transaction reports involving Cale88. Some transactions were flagged because financial institutions could not identify a sufficient underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose, or economic justification for particular transactions.

An STR is not a criminal conviction. It is not a court finding that money laundering happened, that Cale88 is a fraudulent company, that the Chinese government funded Vice President Sara Duterte, nor is it proof that a transaction was illegal.

Buenaventura himself emphasized the distinction between reporting a transaction as suspicious and ultimately proving money laundering or another offense.

THE BURDEN OF PROOF LIES UPON THE ACCUSER

If the allegation is: “Cale88 received ₱319 million from the Chinese government,” then the accuser needs to establish the connection between the money and the Chinese government.

If the allegation is: “China secretly funded Sara Duterte and Mans Carpio through Cale88,” then the accuser needs to establish: who actually provided the money; whether those entities were acting for the Chinese government; what the purpose of the payments was; whether the transactions were actually connected to political activity; whether Sara Duterte or Mans Carpio personally benefited; and whether any law was violated.

None of these have been proven.

These lies do nothing but serve the wretched partisan narrative that Vice President Sara Duterte is pro-China and doesn’t speak up for the West Philippine Sea because she is paid by the Chinese government to do so.

Even President Marcos Jr. himself defended her “silence” on the WPS, saying that it is not the job of a DepEd Secretary to comment on foreign affairs issues. After her resignation, however, she did speak up and said that the country’s maritime rights are firmly anchored on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 arbitral award. She has also clarified that she is only pro-Philippines, not pro-China. This should put an end to it.

Only a rabid dog, then, with no regard for the truth, will believe in this concocted hoax.

Money moved from China into a company proves only that: money movement. It does not prove foreign interference or money laundering, nor does it prove that VP Sara Duterte personally received the money.

The burden of proof belongs to the party making those accusations; it never shifts to the accused.

WEBSITE SETUP

Thanks to research from highly respected international relations scholar Ms. Sass Rolando Sasot, the cale88foods.com domain was registered only on October 3, 2026, through Squarespace Domains LLC. When visited, it redirects to the Chinese Embassy in Manila’s website.

But a domain redirect does not mean the Chinese Embassy owns or operates the domain. Anyone who controls a domain can use a forwarding service to redirect it to another website.

I personally suspect that the same interests that pushed the hoax narrative against China, Cale88, and the Vice President are also responsible for this abuse of domain name registration for propaganda purposes. The domain name buyer is from the Philippines. Playing dirty politics at the expense of damaging bilateral relations with the country’s largest trading partner is a very dangerous game.

CALE88 MONEY IS NOT SARA’S OR MANS’ MONEY

Cale88 is a corporation. The ₱319 million was reported as money received by Cale88. The company’s financial transactions need to be distinguished from the personal finances of its shareholders.

According to records presented in the impeachment proceedings, Carpio was an incorporator, director, and shareholder of Cale88 between 2021 and 2024, with his ownership reportedly reaching 47.5% in 2024. His name no longer appeared among the shareholders in the 2025 records.

A company’s revenue does not equal a shareholder’s personal bank account.

TRILLANES DROPPED

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was the source of many of the explosive allegations surrounding the China connection. Trillanes alleged that approximately ₱319 million from the Chinese government and China-based corporations went to Cale88, which he linked to Mans Carpio. He characterized the alleged transactions as evidence of Chinese support for the Duterte couple.

Trillanes was not ultimately presented as a prosecution witness in the impeachment trial. The prosecution dropped him from its witness lineup on October 1/2. Trillanes said he agreed to the withdrawal.

Statements made at a press conference are not equivalent to testimony given before the impeachment court. A witness appearing in court can be questioned and cross-examined. Documents can be authenticated and evidence can be tested.

NO PROBATIVE VALUE

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson also questioned the evidentiary value of relying on Trillanes’ assertions.

If Trillanes did not personally participate in the transactions, he cannot simply testify from personal knowledge about what the parties intended.

And the prosecution itself ultimately decided not to call Trillanes as its witness.

This is because the prosecution had to rely on actual financial records and other witnesses like Buenaventura to establish its case rather than simply putting Trillanes on the stand and allowing him to repeat his allegations. His claims are not true simply because he says so.

CHINESE EMBASSY DENIES

The Chinese Embassy has also rejected the allegation that Beijing funnelled money to a Philippine political faction. The embassy described the allegations as a “false narrative.”

China’s principle of non-interference dictates that states must respect each other’s sovereignty and refrain from meddling in the internal or external affairs of other nations.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence originated in the 1950s and were famously championed by Premier Zhou Enlai at the 1955 Bandung Conference. The policy includes non-interference in internal affairs.

RESET

This episode certainly does not bode well for the agenda of the President and the Department of Foreign Affairs, which seeks better relations and a “reset” with China, especially as this year has been particularly fruitful. As the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has repeatedly emphasized, the differences in the West Philippine Sea are not the sum total of Philippine-China relations. The DFA is the authoritative voice and lead agency responsible for the conduct of the Philippines’ foreign policy.

According to Pew Research Center’s 2026 Global Attitudes Survey, 47% of Filipinos aged 18 to 34, like me, said they had a favorable opinion of China. That compares with 44% among those aged 35 to 49 and just 27% among Filipinos aged 50 and older. Meanwhile, overall, 40% of Filipinos had a favorable opinion of China, up from 34% in 2024.

The Philippines introduced a 14-day visa-free entry program for Chinese nationals in January. By July 1, Chinese arrivals had reached 221,747, up 64.08% from the same period in 2025.

The Philippine Tourism Promotions Board said 99.63% of those arrivals entered under the visa-free program. New direct routes have also been introduced or expanded, including connections between Manila and Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Changsha, as well as Fujian and Cebu. Travel times on some of these routes are around three to four hours.

   

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