The Senate impeachment court has admitted financial, corporate, tax, and property records in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte while simultaneously restoring the sub judice ban across all four impeachment articles. Presiding Officer Francis Escudero issued the 22-page order, setting the evidentiary boundaries for the remaining unexplained wealth case ahead of the resumption of proceedings on November 9.
Court Admits Financial Records
The impeachment court rejected the defense’s general objection that subpoenaed documents constituted a fishing expedition
or lacked admissibility because they were absent from the original impeachment complaint.
The admitted records include statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth. They include documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and nine banks.
Also incorporated into the official record were insurance and investment policies. Property deeds located in Samal and Davao City were added to the record alongside official paperwork regarding guns registered to Duterte and her spouse, attorney Manases Carpio.
The court restricted the use of financial records dating from 2007 to 2021 strictly to establishing Duterte’s starting financial baseline
before she assumed the vice presidency on June 30, 2022. These records cannot serve to establish separate offenses allegedly committed prior to her current term.
The court also excluded Commission on Audit disallowance records. These records were linked to confidential funds under the withdrawn Article I.
The court excluded corporate records and forensic computations involving the JTC Group of Companies Philippines Inc. and Pikimong Philippines Corporation.
To safeguard sensitive information, the court prohibited the online publication or unauthorized distribution of personal, tax, bank, and Anti-Money Laundering Council records. With the prosecution having concluded the presentation of its case, the impeachment tribunal authorized the defense to adopt previously admitted exhibits without needing to re-present the same paperwork.
Admitting a document into the record does not mean the Court has ruled that the Prosecution’s allegations or computations are true,
Reginald Tongol, Court Spokesperson
Court spokesperson Reginald Tongol noted that the senator-judges will independently evaluate the weight of the admitted evidence to decide whether it sufficiently substantiates the surviving charge of unexplained wealth.
Court Restores Gag Order
The reinstatement followed a November 4 manifestation filed by the defense stating that Duterte was not waiving the rule’s protection because she remains uninterested in any form of trial by publicity.
Senate President Win Gatchalian was also noted as present when Escudero gavelled the impeachment court into session. The initial decision to lift the restriction in October had followed the prosecution’s withdrawal of three articles.
The first count focused on accusations that confidential monies were improperly spent by the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President. The third count involved accusations of corruption at the DepEd.
The fourth count pertained to alleged criminal intimidation directed at First Lady Liza Marcos, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Article 2 remains the sole active charge, accusing Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth.
Earlier, the defense slammed the prosecution for dropping those three counts, contending that doing so stripped them of a chance to challenge the claims and caused the allegations to remain unchallenged. Senator-judge Francis Pangilinan initially supported lifting the restriction to allow the defense to respond publicly to the withdrawn allegations.
The formal decision stated that the sub judice prohibition applies with equal force to the prosecution, the defense, and all senator-judges alike. The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its counter-evidence regarding the remaining unexplained wealth charge when the trial resumes on Monday, November 9, at 10 a.m.