Impeachment court admits VP Sara's SALN, AMLC records into evidence

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The Senate impeachment court has admitted Vice President Sara Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) in all the years she was public official since 2007 into the list of evidence for her impeachment trial.

In an order dated November 5, the Senate court said the SALNs were admitted solely as a starting financial baseline prior to June 30, 2022 where she became Vice President.

Also admitted were the bank account, bank transaction and corporate records under her name and her husband Manases Carpio,

As to bank records directly submitted by the banks to the Court Clerk and pre-marked by both parties, the Senate court said these were admitted for account particulars and transactions under Article 2, the lone impeachment case against the Vice President which alleges of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution over amassing unexplained wealth and non-divestment in businesses as mandated by the Constitution.

These financial records admitted into evidence by the Senate court include insurance and investment records, as these are “authenticated records establishing policy, investment, and payment particulars for comparison with the SALNs under Article 2.”

Also fully admitted into evidence by the court were:

• procurement records of Gencorp Industries, Inc. with Davao City LGU, PhilHealth Region 10, and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Region 11.
• Philippine Statistics Authority-issued official public records establishing marriage of Duterte and Carpio
• certifications on active licensed firearms of the Vice President and her husband
• authenticated land records whose existence and authenticity were admitted by the defense

The Senate impeachment court, however, said admitting an evidence is not tantamount to making a ruling on the allegations against the Vice President.

“Let the public and both parties be reminded of a fundamental rule of law: admitting a document into the record does not mean the Court has ruled that the prosecution’s allegations or computations are true," the court said.

"Admissibility simply means the documents met the legal standards to be placed on the table; how much weight they carry—and whether they prove or fail to prove Article 2—belongs exclusively to the Senator-Judges at the end of the trial,” added the court.

“To protect strict statutory confidentiality, the Court has ordered that no underlying exhibit containing protected bank, tax, Anti-Money Laundering Council, foreign-currency, or personal data may be uploaded online or distributed outside the strict parameters of the October 13, 2026 Order and applicable law.”

Financial report

The court also accepted the income tax records of the Vice President and her husband to evidence “to show reported income, assets, and tax examination scope under Article 2” but only “limited strictly to baseline evaluation and cannot be used to prove a Local Government Code violation while Mayor.”

The financial report of financial forensic analyst and lawyer Alex Cabrera which estimated the Vice President and her husband’s unexplained wealth at P817 million to as much as P1.5 billion was also largely accepted into evidence by the Senate court, excluding only the part of scheduled entries, or computations derived from JTC Group or Pikimong Pikimong firm records.

Pikimong Pikimong is the firm which Cale88 Foods Corporation was supposedly sold to, while JTC Group is an apparent business partner of the firms linked to the Duterte-Carpio couple.

All records of JTC Group of Companies Philippines, Inc. and Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation and all summaries or computations derived from them were likewise excluded by the Senate court.

The impeachment trial of the Vice President will resume on November 9 for the defense’s presentation of evidence.

“With the Prosecution's case now formally rested, the Respondent will begin presenting her defense on Article II on Monday, November 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.,” the court said.

“To prevent unnecessary delay, the Court has ruled that the Defense may directly adopt and rely upon any admitted exhibit already in the official record without having to present it all over again,” it added. —VAL, GMA News