Is Sara Duterte unaware of BPI accounts with father Rodrigo?

SARA DUTERTE. Accompanied by her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte arrives at the Quezon City RTC on September 11, 2026, to attend arraignment proceedings for a grave threat case.

Jire Carreon/Rappler

The defense team also distances the Vice President from the insurance policies linked to her

Amid the prosecution team’s attempt to prove the authenticity of bank accounts and insurance policies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, the latter’s defense team had a strategy: distance the Vice President from these transactions.

Defense spokesperson and counsel Michael Poa wrote a letter to the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to clarify matters about Duterte’s accounts with her father. Poa floated this letter during the impeachment trial on Wednesday, October 7, which was later read out loud by Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros during her interjection.

The letter was flashed on screen as Hontiveros read it out loud.

“Certain public statements have referred to purported bank accounts allegedly maintained with your institution bearing various account numbers hereto attached as Annex A. In light of these allegations and considering that our client has no knowledge, participation or recollection of maintaining or having any beneficial interest in such accounts, we respectfully request confirmation of the following,” the letter said, seeking clarification about the existence and status of the BPI accounts.

Poa addressed the letter to BPI senior vice president and legal counsel. Paul Rodrick Ysmael.

On Day 35 of the trial, BPI division head for central Manila branches Marwin Galvez confirmed that former president Rodrigo Duterte and daughter Sara had a joint time deposit account opened in January 2010 with a principal amount of P40.65 million.

The account was opened in the BPI Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City, rolled over 12 times, and eventually reached P41.72 million. When the time deposit matured in March 2011, the funds were converted into a manager’s check.

Prosecutor James Bryan Ibrahim explained that if funds were used to acquire a manager’s check, they will not reflect on the account’s year-end balance as they are considered “floating.” A manager’s check is valid for six months.

So by saying that Duterte had no recollection of these accounts, did the defense say that this manager’s check transaction was all the idea of the former president?

“Well, to better phrase it your honor, our client, does not have any recollection of this account,” Poa told Hontiveros, who had the same question in mind.

The defense counsel added that his client only knew about the said bank account during the House quad committee hearings in 2024, which investigated Philippine offshore gaming operators, war on drugs, and illegal drugs.

“I was asked by the Vice President to verify kasi hindi niya natatandaan na may ganitong account at wala daw siyang transaksyon, ‘no (because she cannot remember that such an account exists and she is not aware of that transaction). So, in fact, that’s why we wanted to show even the response of the BPI to my letter,” Poa added.

But this was not the only thing that the Vice President is supposedly unaware of — or at least has no knowledge of.

During their cross-examination of witnesses from several insurance companies, the defense lawyers highlighted that the Vice President — although named in the policies — might not be directly involved in the transactions done by her husband.

For example, defense lawyer Carlo Joaquin Narvasa read to a witness section 3 of Republic Act No. 10607 or the law that amended the Insurance Code.

“The consent of the spouse is not necessary for the validity of an insurance policy taken out by a married person on his or her life or that of his or her children,” Narvasa said, reading the provision.

The consent of the spouse in insurance policies and other similar questions were repeated by defense counsels during the Wednesday trial. But for the prosecution, these excuses were unacceptable.

“Because, the SALN is a SALN. There are requirements for the SALN,” said prosecutor Terry Ridon.

“You have to ask your co-depositors, the co-joint accounts, whether that’s your spouse, your father, the content of these bank accounts before writing your SALN. That’s the process for all government officials preparing their SALN. So, hopefully, that’s what the Vice President should have done,” he added in Filipino.

What did the defense team — and the Vice President, for that matter — accomplish in claiming that Sara had no knowledge of the joint bank accounts with her father, who was detained in The Hague? Ridon had a response that mirrored the though balloon of many trial observers that day: “Magandang araw po, Pangulong Duterte. Nilalaglag po kayo rito.”

(Good morning, President Duterte. They’re throwing you under the bus here.) – Rappler.com