Prosecution flags VP Sara's 'tanging yaman' over years of zero cash declaration

The House prosecution panel on Tuesday flagged Vice President Sara Duterte’s non-declaration of cash in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for seven years amid the exponential increase in her net worth, saying these should match the Vice President’s tax payments and source of income.

“For Day 25 of the impeachment trial, this is titled Ang Tanging Yaman ni VP Sara. Pitong taong walang cash na idineklara. Ang nakalagay sa batas, ang cash on hand at cash in bank ay dapat [ideklara], at ito ay dapat tukoy na idineklara sa ilalim ng RA 6713,” lawyer Hez Montalan, deputy spokesperson of the House prosecution panel, said, referring to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

(Seven years of no cash declared. In the law, the cash on hand and cash in bank must be declared and identified under RA 6713.)

Montalan was referring to the testimony of Ombudsman Records Division officer-in-charge Karen Batu, who told the Senate impeachment court that the Vice President’s SALN filings from 2019 to 2025 did not include declarations of cash on hand or in bank.

Specifically, Section 8 of the said law states that “All public officials and employees, except those who serve in an honorary capacity, laborers and casual or temporary workers, shall file under oath their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and a Disclosure of Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of their spouses and unmarried children under 18 years of age living in their households.”

Likewise, the same provision states that the SALN entries should include the following: (a) real property, its improvements, acquisition costs, assessed value and current fair market value; (b) personal property and acquisition cost; (c) all other assets such as investments, cash on hand or in banks, stocks, bonds, and the like; (d) liabilities, and; (e) all business interests and financial connections.

“This [cash] should not be lumped together with other personal properties,” Montalan pointed out.

He also cited Batu's testimony that confirmed that the Vice President did not declare shares of stocks in her SALNs even as she declared that she was an incorporator or a stockholder of multiple businesses in various years.

“Under our laws, SALN is not a mere form. This should be submitted under oath,” he added.

But wait, there’s more?

Private prosecutor Benjamin Tolosa, Jr., for his part, said that the Vice President’s net worth climbing from P7.2 million in 2007 to at least P98 million as of end-2025 based on her declared SALN raises questions of whether this will match her income tax filings and other sources of income.

“We are talking about unexplained wealth here. Iyong nadeklarang yaman dito sa kanyang mga SALNs, ito ba ay tutugma doon sa kanyang income na puwede niyang kitain as government official? And if so, does she have other legitimate sources, and if those are allowed considering the restrictions of the law since she is already a Vice President?” Tolosa said.

(Will her declared wealth match with her income as a government official?)

“Are these income sources declared in her BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) filings? Secondly, iyong mga nadeklarang yaman na ‘yan, ‘yan lang ba talaga ang kabuuang yaman niya, o mayroon pang mas malaking yaman na hindi pa naipapakita at hindi nadeklara? There are really questions that need to be answered here,” he added.

(Besides, is her declared wealth all there is? Or does she have higher amount of wealth that is yet to be declared or was not declared?)

It was Senator judge and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian who cited the possibility of the Vice President's net worth being undervalued since she did not indicate the amount of her shares of stock in various businesses she was involved in based on her SALN declaration.

Why not 'yaman'?

House prosecutor Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list and House prosecution panel adviser and former Surigao del Norte congressman Ace Barbers, on the other hand, said that the defense’s refusal to use the word "yaman" to translate net worth during the proceedings is puzzling because there was no other way to translate net worth with a word that is understandable.

“Anything you possess, properties, cases, whatever…assets mo ‘yun. Yaman mo ‘yun. Hindi naman puedeng tawagin na hirap [mo yun],” Barbers said.

(That is your wealth. You cannot call it your scarce wealth.)

Ridon then said translating net worth to the word "yaman," which also translates to wealth in English, is merely calling spade a spade.

“Tama rin iyong sinabi ni presiding officer [Francis Escudero] na kabuuang pag-aari pero ultimately, yaman pa rin talaga. Huwag na natin pag-iba ibahin. A duck is a duck,” Ridon added.

Defense lawyer Michael Poa, in response, said they will address these allegations of the prosecution in due time.

“The witness was a mere custodian of the SALNs and she cannot testify on whether there is ill-gotten wealth there. If we need to explain the increase in net worth [of the Vice President, we will have our turn for that,” Poa said.

“That will come later with other witnesses or other evidence to be presented by the defense,” Poa added. — BM, GMA News