Week three of Vice President Sara Dutere's impeachment trial began with a big win for the prosecution. The Senate has subpoenaed her financial records.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1279857 |
The Senate sitting as an impeachment court on Monday granted the House prosecution's requests to subpoena bank records, tax documents and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records involving Vice President Sara Duterte.
Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero, who read the court's rulings, said the requested records met the legal requirements for the issuance of subpoenas duces tecum.
"They are reasonably described, readily identifiable, and prima facie relevant and material to the allegations under Article II," Escudero said.
The court ordered the production of peso-denominated bank records of Duterte, her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, their joint accounts, Carpio Lawyers law firm and 19 corporate entities with established prima facie links to the respondent. It also granted subpoenas for their AMLC records.
However, requests covering JTC Group of Companies Philippines Inc. and Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation were denied after the prosecution failed to establish sufficient links to Duterte or Carpio.
The court also limited the subpoenas to peso-denominated bank accounts, denying the request insofar as foreign currency deposits are concerned.
The impeachment court likewise granted the prosecution's request to subpoena the Bureau of Internal Revenue for Duterte's tax records, allowing documents from 2007 to 2021 solely to establish a financial baseline for assessing her assets, financial transactions and business interests during her present term.
Escudero emphasized that the records could not be used to introduce new impeachable offenses.
"This Court is not determining tax deficiencies or civil liabilities, which remain within the province of the BIR. It is exercising its constitutional mandate to determine public accountability under the Articles of Impeachment," Escudero said.
The court also ruled that the issuance of the BIR subpoena does not automatically authorize disclosure of the tax records, noting that the BIR commissioner may invoke applicable exceptions under the National Internal Revenue Code in responding to the order.
Banks, the AMLC and the BIR were directed to submit their respective returns or records to the Clerk of Court on July 30 at 9 a.m., with AMLC documents to be first reviewed in camera by the presiding officer before any release to the parties.
House prosecution panel adviser and spokesperson Robert Ace Barbers welcomed the ruling, describing it as a decisive affirmation that no public official may invoke confidentiality to shield evidence that is directly relevant to determining accountability in an impeachment trial.
“Today’s vote is a victory for truth, transparency, and accountability. The impeachment court has made it clear that the search for truth cannot be frustrated by claims of confidentiality when the Constitution itself demands a full and fair examination of the evidence,” Barbers said in a statement.
Barbers said the subpoenaed records will enable the prosecution to examine documentary evidence that may establish whether there is a disparity between the Vice President’s declared income and assets and the financial transactions reflected in banking, tax and AMLC records.
“These financial records are indispensable in determining whether the allegations of unexplained wealth are supported by documentary evidence. They will provide the factual basis upon which the impeachment court can objectively assess the charges under Article II,” he said.
Barbers added that the court’s ruling effectively resolves the legal issues raised by the defense regarding the applicability of the Bank Secrecy Law and other confidentiality statutes in relation to the subpoena requests, allowing the trial to proceed toward the presentation of material financial evidence before the impeachment court.
He likewise emphasized that the prosecution remains committed to presenting only evidence that is relevant, competent and admissible, noting that earlier decisions to streamline the witness list demonstrate the panel’s determination to conduct an efficient trial focused on the strongest documentary and testimonial evidence.
“The Filipino people deserve nothing less than the whole truth. This impeachment trial is not about personalities or politics—it is about public accountability. Every peso entrusted by the people must be accounted for, and every public official, regardless of position, must answer for allegations of corruption and unexplained wealth before the Constitution and the Filipino nation,” Barbers said.
However there appears to be a caveat for the release of her tax records. President Marcos, who is now Sara's mortal enemy, has to approve the release. This has set up a Catch-22 situation for him.
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| https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/20/-marcos-consent-to-unseal-sara-duterte-s-bir-records-not-an-act-against-her-2029 |
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may choose whether or not to authorize the Bureau of Internal Revenue to disclose Vice President Sara Duterte's tax records, impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol said Monday.
He stressed that if the president grants such authority, it should not be interpreted as an act against the Vice President.
“It is not really an act against the vice president. I think that will be unfair to characterize the president’s giving permission to the BIR commissioner for the disclosure to be seen as act against the vice president.”
Tongol said the President's action would be an acknowledgment of the authority of a co-equal branch of government.
“It is actually an act of respect to a co-equal branch of government and since the impeachment court is officially acted on the request for subpoena and the BIR commissioner has remedies in order for him not to be in trouble.”
Tongol added that Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza must first secure the President's authorization before complying with the subpoena, with July 30 set as the deadline for compliance.
Day 7 of the impeachment trial of Duterte saw the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, grant the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to the BIR.
The subpoena stems from the prosecution's request to obtain the income tax and bank records of Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio.
However, under Section 71 of the National Internal Revenue Code, the BIR is bound by confidentiality provisions and cannot disclose or unseal tax records without proper authority.
To release the requested documents, the BIR must first obtain the express authority or consent of the President.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2267140/padilla-explains-why-he-opposed-issuance-of-subpoenas |
Senator-judge Robinhood Padilla on Monday opposed the impeachment court’s decision to subpoena Vice President Sara Duterte’s financial and tax records, stating that the same should be done to other impeachable officials.
Padilla made the pronouncement after the Senate impeachment court, through Senator-Judge and Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero, granted subpoenas for Vice President Sara Duterte’s financial and tax records.
In a manifestation, Padilla said the “standards” being applied in issuing a subpoena for Duterte’s financial and tax records should likewise be enforced upon all impeachable officials, regardless of their names or positions.
This, he said, is to show the public that no official is being singled out.
“If this is the standard we are setting, then let us all open up our bank records, let us all open them, to show the public that we are not playing favorites here,” said Padilla.
The senator-judge also took the opportunity to call for support in passing into law the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.
“Because if this is the case, as if we are being watched and observed, it is not good for the people. Let us remember that we are equal before God and the law,” said Padilla.
“And I ask you to put on record my objection to this ruling,” he added.
It should be noted, however, that only the vice president is currently facing an impeachment trial among all impeachable government officials.
Senator-judge Pia Cayetano, in a separate manifestation, meanwhile, said it would have been better for the court to only issue subpoenas on records from 2022 to 2026, instead of from 2007.
“We could have considered starting at 2022, and if there’s more kung doon pa lang it already shows that unexplained from 22 to 2026, there may be no reason to go back and at least respect that part of the records,” said Cayetano.
“…That’s our way of showing respect for the persons who are brought here to trial,” she added.
However, Cayetano said she will submit to the ruling as one of the senator-judges.
Concurrently, other senator-judges, specifically Alan Peter Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Camille Villar, and Loren Legarda, have all expressed their willingness to submit in writing their manifestations or objections to Escudero’s ruling.
Sure, let them all open their bank records!!! But did Padilla forget this is an impeachment trial? Those records are evidence. He is showing his true colors are for Duterte.
In fact, many Senators are waving that flag in their actions.
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| https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/20/inside-the-session-hall-subtle-shows-of-support-among-senators-of-the-same-bloc-2341 |
The continuation of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday led to the issuance of subpoenas for Duterte’s financial records after the prosecution and defense fielded questions on the law as well as on the necessity and the propriety of issuing them.
Spectators inside the session hall also saw subtle shows of support among senators in the same bloc.
In a so far rare occasion of raised voices at the impeachment court, Sen. Erwin Tulfo called out Sen. Robin Padilla for using it as a forum to air issues unrelated to the trial.
Padilla had taken the floor to dispute the Office of the Ombudsman’s remark that he had ignored an order to submit his counter-affidavit in relation to Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate compound in May.
The senator-judge did this in front of the impeachment court, much to Tulfo’s dismay. He said the trial proper should focus on Duterte and that senators can explain their own issues elsewhere.
While Tulfo was talking, Padilla stood up and approached the podium, seemingly suppressing a smile.
Eventually, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano defended Padilla, saying it was a matter that concerned the court’s integrity.
Cayetano has, since the trial started, made references to the proceedings' alleged problems of credibility.
He had also used the first half hour of the hearing last Thursday to air his anger over a National Bureau of Investigation probe into the 2019 SEA Games, calling it an attempt to intimidate him. Cayetano was chair of the organizing committee of the games.
In defense of his insistence on arguing legal principles — he has pointed out that he and his sister Sen. Pia Cayetano are among the few lawyers at the Senate — he said he would listen to a senator with a background in medicine if the topic was about the medical field.
Padilla was seen nodding in agreement to the minority senator’s statement.
When the court took a brief break at 4 p.m., Sens. Vicente Sotto III, Francis Pangilinan, Raffy and Erwin Tulfo, and Panfilo Lacson of the majority bloc were seen having a discussion..
Padilla remained in his seat on the other side of the court.
It also took some time for some senator-judges to return from the break, with only 11 inside the session hall by 4:08 p.m.
Before Escudero announced the ruling granting the request for subpoenas, Alan Cayetano spent more than 10 minutes sitting by the ledge separating the senator-judges from the gallery.
Padilla briefly joined Cayetano there before both took the floor to say they disagreed with parts of Escudero's decision.
Senators may also submit written manifestations on their position on the presiding officer's ruling, Escudero said.
Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday criticized National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag for announcing the agency’s plan to probe the procurements for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games held in the Philippines.Cayetano, who headed the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, made the manifestation at the start of the sixth day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, a day after Matibag’s announcement.
“Investigate whatever you want to investigate. You want to investigate why I grew a beard? Investigate it. No problem with me. But don’t announce it because it will affect the integrity of the court,” Cayetano said in Filipino.
He also reiterated his earlier statement to the NBI chief after the agency’s agents attempted to arrest Senator Bato Dela Rosa over alleged crimes against humanity, charges Dela Rosa faces before the International Criminal Court.
“Director, we were not taken down, so don’t try to take down this representation or this impeachment court because what you’re doing is not helping,” Cayetano said in Filipino.
Senator-judge Pia Cayetano, sister of Sen. Alan, also took the podium to express her dismay over Matibag’s actions, just a week before he is set to testify as a witness in the trial.
“I am bothered. There’s no jurisdiction in the world that allows a judge to be pressured and intimidated,” she said.She then addressed her colleagues in the session hall: “Why would you allow a director who was called to be a witness next week to brag that he’s going to investigate?”
Pia Cayetano also vowed that if the same happened to any of their colleagues, she would stand up for them regardless of their views.
“I am upset to hear this. I will stand up for each one of you. I don’t care which side you are on, I will stand up for you if somebody tries to intimidate you,” she said.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2268220/solon-sara-duterte-foreign-trip-amid-trial-betrayal-of-public-trust |
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr. on Wednesday criticized Vice President Sara Duterte for embarking on a five-country “personal trip” while she faces an impeachment trial, saying her travel abroad is tantamount to “betrayal of public trust.”
In a statement, Abante said Duterte’s foreign trip goes beyond her constitutional mandate as the nation’s second-highest official and displays a blatant disregard in the impeachment process.
On Tuesday, Duterte’s office said her July 16 to 31 travel plan includes stops in Qatar, Germany, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. The itinerary covers engagements with migrant Filipino workers, it said, adding that the government won’t bankroll the trip.
“That constitutes betrayal of public trust,” Abante, who endorsed an impeachment complaint against Duterte that was eventually elevated by the House of Representatives to the Senate, said. “She’s highly irresponsible as VP.”
He described Duterte’s trip as merely a “junket,” as he rebuked the vice president for prioritizing foreign engagements instead of facing her ouster case in the Senate. “She violated the real intent of the Constitution.”
Impeachment is a constitutional remedy that allows Congress to remove high officials who have committed “culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.”
“Public officials should demonstrate respect for that process through their actions, especially while the proceedings are ongoing,” Abante said.
Duterte has skipped the proceedings against her so far, instead offering a general denial of wrongdoing as she called efforts to remove her from office as politically motivated. She has remained defiant, though acknowledging the trial may leave her “bloodied but unbowed.”She faces an impeachment trial for accusations that she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds, amassed unexplained wealth, bribed officials and threatened the lives of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, the first lady and a former House speaker.
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