THE House of Representatives may examine Vice President Sara Duterte’s bank records as part of the ongoing impeachment proceedings against her, according to Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V. Ortega emphasized the gravity of the allegations of unexplained wealth and potential discrepancies in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).
Ortega described the accusations in the fourth impeachment complaint as “serious and disturbing,” highlighting claims that “certain bank accounts, properties, and significant cash movements were allegedly not fully reflected in Duterte’s SALNs.” He stressed that these matters must be reconciled with her SALN disclosures, especially in light of alleged “sworn accounts of large cash transfers.”
The impeachment complaint, filed by Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera and endorsed by Representatives Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Ortega, requests the House to issue subpoenas for bank records related to deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and account activity from 2019 to 2025. The complaint also proposes coordinating with the Commission on Audit (COA), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and commissioning an independent forensic accounting team to reconcile SALNs with bank and property records.
Cabrera argues that these requests are grounded in the House’s constitutional investigatory powers and legal precedents that allow for the piercing of bank secrecy in cases involving bribery, unexplained wealth, or corruption.
Ortega underscored that the House has constitutional investigatory powers in impeachment proceedings and cited jurisprudence allowing bank secrecy to be pierced when public interest demands it.
Ortega rejected claims that scrutiny of financial records amounts to harassment, stating, “Oversight is not persecution. It is a constitutional duty.” He added, “The Constitution is not suspended because someone declares candidacy. If there is nothing to hide, transparency should not be feared.”
The impeachment complaint accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes. The allegations center on the claim that certain assets, bank accounts, cash holdings, and property transactions were either omitted, understated, or not fully reflected in her SALNs. The complaint also links the unexplained wealth allegations to irregular confidential fund disbursements from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
The complaint cites the rapid encashment of ₱125 million in December 2022 and subsequent findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) flagging irregularities, including fabricated or defective receipts, unverifiable payees, and duplicated entries.
Beyond the financial allegations, the complaint reiterates earlier accusations that Duterte publicly admitted to having “asked a person” to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.
