Duterte trial ends early over late AMLC docs, ‘confidential’ mark

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial ended early on Thursday due to concerns raised by her defense team, including the confidentiality of documents submitted by a prosecution witness.

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura was scheduled to testify for the prosecution on Thursday in connection with allegations that Duterte had amassed unexplained wealth and failed to declare it in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

However, Duterte’s lead defense counsel, Shiela Sison, informed the court that they had received the AMLC summaries only on Thursday morning.

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“We just noticed that this document consists of the summaries, including the cover letter submitted by the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Atty. Ronel Buenaventura, consisting of 11 pages, actually has on each and every page of this document a strictly confidential mark,” Sison said. “And this repeats in the entire submission, including the accompanying summaries identified as Annex A and so on and so forth.”

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“There is also a portion in the cover letter dated October 1, 2026 of the Executive Director of AMLC addressed to the lead of the panel of the prosecutors explicitly saying that the AMLC is not waiving the confidentiality of AMLC records,” she added.

The Senate Impeachment Court later granted the defense team’s request for ample time to prepare for the direct and cross-examinations of the AMLC witness.

The 32nd day of the trial on Thursday was supposed to be the first full day of proceedings, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. However, the court adjourned the session at 3:30 p.m.

The court also canceled Friday’s trial and decided to resume proceedings next week to hear the testimonies of officials from financial institutions. /mcm