Senate impeachment court admits prosecution evidence vs. Sara Duterte

The Senate Impeachment Court has admitted most of the evidence presented by the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over allegations of unexplained wealth.

In a November 5 order signed by Presiding Officer Senate President Francis Escudero, the court overruled the defense’s continuing objection to documents obtained through subpoenas during the trial, which were not attached to the original impeachment complaints.

The defense had argued that the prosecution’s requests for these documents amounted to a fishing expedition.

But the court said evidence obtained through subpoenas during trial may supply relevant facts in proving the allegations in the impeachment article, citing the constitutional powers of the House of Representatives to impeach public officials and the Senate to try and decide impeachment cases.

Among the evidence admitted were documents from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, including covered and suspicious transaction reports linked to Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio.

The court also accepted documents from various banks, insurance and investment companies, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Other admitted evidence included the financial forensic report of prosecution witness Attorney Alexander Cabrera, as well as records from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office, and the Land Registration Authority.

The court also rejected the defense’s objection to the admission of financial records from before Duterte became vice president, saying these were necessary to establish a starting financial baseline for comparison.

However, the impeachment court excluded all Commission on Audit disallowance records involving confidential funds under withdrawn Article I.

It also excluded records from JTC Group of Companies Philippines, Inc. and Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation, ruling that these companies were not relevant to the case.

The court clarified that admitting an exhibit only means it is relevant and competent to be considered in resolving Article II. The evidentiary weight and sufficiency of each document will still be determined by the senator-judges during their final deliberations.

House prosecutor Representative Terry Ridon thanked the court for accepting most of the prosecution’s evidence, saying these documents would help establish questions surrounding the vice president’s alleged unexplained wealth, estimated at between 800 million and 1.5 billion pesos.

Prosecution counsel Attorney Lorna Kapunan also defended the use of subpoenas, saying the impeachment court has the authority to compel the production of documents.

Meanwhile, the Senate Impeachment Court has reinstated the sub judice rule covering the three withdrawn impeachment articles.

This bars the prosecution, the defense and Duterte herself from making public remarks concerning the core issues of all four impeachment articles.

The impeachment trial is scheduled to resume on Monday, November 9, with the defense set to present its case.

Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr. said subpoenas have already been served to 21 of the defense team’s 24 witnesses. The remaining three will be served next week.

The list includes corporate counsel of Gencorp Industries and Metro City Chow Foods Corporation, companies identified as business interests of the vice president in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

Also included are employees of the Davao City government and the Island Garden City of Samal, as well as representatives from various banks.

Kapunan questioned the relevance of the defense witnesses, particularly the 16 bank representatives.

She said their expected testimonies appeared limited to confirming whether the defense had requested bank documents and whether these requests were answered.

Kapunan argued that these witnesses would not necessarily address the prosecution’s questions about the vice president’s financial records.

In a separate development, Duterte’s defense team formally withdrew its request for the impeachment court to subpoena former law school dean Ralph Sarmiento.

In a manifestation submitted on November 5, the defense said it respected Sarmiento’s decision to decline to testify. – ANC, The World Tonight, November 6, 2026