Witness: VP Sara received P64,000 salary differential in 2023

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Vice President Sara Duterte received P64,194.72 from the Davao City government in January 2023 as payment for salary differentials dating back to her previous terms as mayor, a defense witness said on Tuesday.

Davao City Accountant Vengeline Bahan testified on the 41st day of Duterte’s impeachment trial that the payment covered salary adjustments for 2020 and 2021.

Bahan confirmed a summary of payroll records showing that Duterte was due P64,194.72 in salary differentials.

“The particulars [in this summary of list of payroll] is salary differentials for the year 2020 and 2021 po,” Bahan said.

Salary differential refers to the additional pay an employee is entitled to receive after a salary adjustment is implemented retroactively, covering the difference between the old and adjusted rates.

In her testimony, Bahan explained that the amount given to Duterte covered January to December 2020 and January to December 2021, following adjustments under the fourth tranche of the Salary Standardization Law implemented in 2019.

Asked by defense counsel Lindon Bacquel why the payment was made only in January 2023, when Duterte was already vice president, Bahan said the supporting documents had been completed only at that time.

Duterte previously served as Davao City vice mayor from 2007 to 2010 and mayor from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2022.

On Oct. 8, 2026, prosecution witness Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez, chief of staff of Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza, told the Senate impeachment court that Duterte's tax returns showed she had received compensation from the Davao City government in 2023.

The testimony then prompted private prosecutor Erwin Matib to raise constitutional restrictions on government officials receiving other compensation while in office.

Matib cited Section 13, Article VII of the Constitution, which prohibits the president, vice president and Cabinet members from holding other offices or employment during their tenure, subject to constitutional exceptions.

He also cited Section 6, Article VII, which provides that the president and vice president shall not receive any other emolument from the government or any other source during their tenure.— MCG, GMA News

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