By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-07-20 11:06:26 | Updated at 2026-08-02 20:49:27
1 week ago
MANILA – The Philippine Senate impeachment court will subpoena the bank and tax records of Vice-President Sara Duterte as her opponents seek to oust the nation’s second-highest official on allegations that include corruption and unexplained wealth.
“The court finds that the requested documents meet the requirements set forth,” Senator Francis Escudero, who is presiding Duterte’s impeachment trial, said in a televised ruling.
“They are reasonably described, readily identifiable, prima facie relevant and material to the allegations.”
Prosecutors have asked the court to order the release of Duterte’s bank, tax and Anti-Money Laundering Council records as they try to convince senator-judges that the vice-president has enriched herself while in public office and that she has failed to truthfully disclose her assets.
During July 20’s hearing, Congressman Chel Diokno, one of the prosecutors, questioned Duterte’s fitness to hold public office.
“If that person amassed billions in unexplained wealth while serving as vice-mayor or mayor, I think that would have a very big impact on whether they should continue in office or whether they are fit to hold that position,” Diokno said.
Michael Poa, Duterte’s legal counsel, criticised the prosecution’s effort to scrutinise the vice-president’s financial transactions from 2007, when she was a vice-mayor and not yet an impeachable official.
“What that is is an unlimited search throughout a person’s financial history. That should not be allowed,” Poa said during the debate last week.
The court-approved subpoena excludes foreign currency deposits, unless Duterte and her spouse give their consent, Escudero said.
Duterte, the ally-turned critic of the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, is accused by impeachment prosecutors of threatening the life of Marcos, misusing public funds and bribery.
She’s facing ouster and perpetual disqualification from politics if she’s convicted by two-thirds of the Senate.
An acquittal meanwhile will leave her as the front-runner for the 2028 presidential election.
The trial is now in its third week. BLOOMBERG
