Sara Duterte's Trial Turns to Her Bank Records as Prosecutors Drop 15 Witnesses
Prosecutors want the Philippine vice-president to testify on the unexplained-wealth charge, while four absent senators leave the 16-vote conviction threshold in doubt.
The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte is entering its second and potentially more damaging phase. On 8 September, House prosecutors closed their case on the first charge, dropped their remaining 15 witnesses, and told the Senate impeachment court they want the vice-president herself on the witness stand.
The trial now turns to Article II, which accuses Duterte of unexplained wealth. Hearings were suspended on 9 and 10 September so that both sides could mark more than 1,800 documents, including bank and insurance records obtained under court subpoenas. Arguments on the second charge begin on 14 September.
The context: two charges, one vice-president
The first article of impeachment concerns the alleged misuse of 612.5 million pesos in confidential funds. Prosecutors presented 12 witnesses on that charge, 10 of whom testified while two had their evidence agreed by both sides, before deciding they had enough.
Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan said the team would instead call Duterte "to the witness stand to address all articles". Her lawyers objected at once. Defence counsel Sheila Sison cited the constitutional protection against self-incrimination and said the right "is absolute".
Prosecutors have also filed a request asking Duterte to admit to 104 items linked to the bank records, including whether certain accounts belong to her. The court has given her lawyers 15 days to respond.
Why it matters
Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is widely seen as a leading contender for the presidency in 2028. A conviction would remove her from office and bar her from holding public office in future, reshaping the country's politics well beyond this trial.
Whether a conviction is even possible now depends on arithmetic as much as evidence. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote, or 16 of the 24 senators. But four senator-judges are unavailable: Loren Legarda is on medical leave, Ronald dela Rosa is in hiding, and Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada are in detention on plunder charges.
That raises a question the court has not settled: should the threshold be calculated on all 24 seats, or only on the senators able to vote? The answer could decide the outcome.
Key points
- Prosecutors rested on Article I, over 612.5 million pesos in confidential funds, and dropped 15 witnesses.
- They want Duterte to testify; her defence says that would breach her right against self-incrimination.
- More than 1,800 documents, including bank records, were marked on 9 and 10 September.
- Article II, on unexplained wealth, opens on 14 September.
- With four senators absent, the court will hear arguments on the 16-vote conviction threshold.
What happens next
Senate President Francis Escudero, who presides over the court, has set out a timetable. Legal experts invited as friends of the court will give their views on 16 September. Both sides will then present oral arguments on 23 September, when the senators are due to vote on whether to keep the 24-member base for calculating a conviction.
In the meantime, the fight over whether Duterte can be compelled to testify is likely to intensify. Prosecutors see her own account of the bank records as central to the wealth charge. Her defence sees the request as an attempt to make her build the case against herself.
Either way, the move from confidential funds to personal finances marks a shift in tone. The first charge was about how public money was spent. The second asks where the vice-president's own money came from, and that is harder to explain away as a dispute over paperwork.
Image: Philippine News Agency photo by Avito Dalan via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain