Law states foreign currency funds must be declared in peso – Escudero

MANILA, Philippines — There is a law that requires public officials to declare in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) the foreign currency funds converted to local values.

Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero made this statement on Tuesday during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte when this matter was raised.

Senator-judge Vicente Sotto III asked the prosecution’s witness, Office of the Ombudsman Central Records Division officer-in-charge Karen Batu, whether foreign currency funds should be stated as assets in SALNs.

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Sotto also asked if public officials required to file these documents also make these declarations.

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Batu replied that she cannot say whether foreign funds are being declared, since the Office of the Ombudsman’s role is only as a repository of SALNs.

“Now, with the length of your stay Attorney (Batu) with the Ombudsman, and as you are the repository, were you able to see SALNs […], the SALNs submitted to you were part of the cash on hand or cash in bank declared are foreign currency (denominations)?” Sotto asked.

“I’m sorry, Your Honor, but we do not check one by one what are the items declared by our declarants,” Batu replied.

“We merely check as to the forms and if it complies with the checklist. But as to the details stated therein, we do not check it,” he added.

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“So, you yourself were not able to see, let’s say declarations of cash on hand, if they state millions or hundred of thousands there. Are these all in pesos?” Sotto asked again.

“I’m not pertaining to the SALN of the vice president. With the SALNs you saw previously, of everyone, are there officials who declare these or they failed to do so?” Sotto wanted to know.

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Batu responded that she is not certain about it.

Escudero then offered to answer Sotto’s question.

He mentioned Section 35 of the Omnibus Rules on the SALN, which states that foreign currency shall be considered as personal property that will be converted into the Philippine currency equivalent.

“With the indulgence of Senator-judge Sotto, if I may read into the records: Section 35 of the Omnibus Rules,” the presiding officer offered.

“Foreign currency – Personal properties, such as cash on hand and in bank, as well as stocks and the like, denominated in foreign currency, shall be converted, for purposes of declaration, into the corresponding Philippine currency equivalent at the rate of exchange,” Escudero read the rules.

Escudero then told Sotto that the conversion can be based on exchange rates during the public official’s assumption to office, on December 31 of the preceding calendar year, and on the date of separation from the service.

“So, it is being declared already in peso. Not in any foreign currency,” Escudero noted.

Sotto said that he inquired about this issue since this was one of the discussions tackled during the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Corona was also tried based on alleged violations related to his SALN.

“I have only one question, Mr. President, and we discussed this during the Corona impeachment. We voted on this matter,” Sotto went on to say.

“Attorney, witness, a bank deposit denominated in a foreign currency is still an asset of the declarant, right?” Sotto asked Batu.The senator-judge eventually also asked the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense.

After Batu said that she cannot answer the question, counsel for the prosecution James Bryan Ibrahim Alih said he agrees with Sotto. 

Counsel for the defense Justin Nicol Gular, meanwhile, said that they will defer the construction of the law to the senator-judges.

“We’d rather not comment on matters of law,” Gular told Sotto.

Duterte’s SALNs were scrutinized on Day 25 of her impeachment trial, as the prosecution panel moved to Article II of the Articles of Impeachment.

Article II alleges that Duterte has unexplained wealth which she did not declare in his SALN. 

To authenticate Duterte’s SALNs, the prosecution presented Batu, but the defense initially objected to Alih’s offer of Batu’s testimony.

The defense rejected the move as it would touch on SALNs that were submitted before 2022, or prior to the vice president’s term.

Escudero reminded Gular that the matter had already been settled when the Senate Impeachment Court ruled on the prosecution’s request for subpoenas.

According to Escudero, there will be no additional charges against Duterte beyond those mentioned in the Articles of Impeachment, and the SALNs from 2007 to 2021 will be used only to establish a baseline.

READ: Escudero OKs showing of VP Duterte’s SALNs from 2007: For baseline only

Batu first appeared in relation to the impeachment proceedings against Duterte when the House Committee on Justice was deliberating on the two impeachment complaints last April.

During the committee on justice’s hearing on April 22, Batu confirmed the veracity of Duterte’s SALNs from 2007 to 2024.

READ: Ombudsman exec confirms Sara Duterte’s SALNs from 2007 to 2024

Duterte’s SALNs from 2007 and 2024 have been deemed by lawmakers as significant to allegations of unexplained wealth.  

During the discussions on the sufficiency in substance of the two impeachment complaints against Duterte, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon had said that the vice president’s net worth from 2007 to 2024 rose by 1,000 percent.

Ridon observed that there was an increase in the vice president’s net worth that was not proportionate to her salary — with her net worth rising by over 1,000 percent from 2008 to 2024.

The lawmaker eventually became a member of the prosecution team and was appointed co-team leader for Article II.

Ridon explained that Duterte’s SALN in 2008 showed a net worth of P18.4 million, while her net worth in her 2023 SALN grew to P77.5 million and P88.5 million for 2024 — representing a 378 percent increase from 2008 to 2024.

However, the lawmaker noted that if figures were based on Duterte’s 2007 SALN — the first year that she became a public official — the jump from a net worth of P7.2 million to 2024’s P88.5 million represents a 1,120 percent spike. /apl

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READ: Docs show VP Duterte’s net worth rose over 1,000% – Ridon