THE House impeachment prosecution expects the Senate impeachment court to admit financial records and other documentary evidence against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte despite the defense’s objections involving bank secrecy and the admissibility of documents presented under the remaining unexplained wealth charge.
House private prosecutor and trial spokesperson Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. expressed confidence that the documentary evidence would withstand legal challenges, pointing to the impeachment exception under the Bank Secrecy Law and the procedures followed in obtaining the disputed records.
“Well, ilang beses nang nag-rule ang court dito at consistent ang ruling na exemption ng impeachment dun sa Bank Securities law,” Tolosa stressed.
Tolosa maintained that the prosecution sees no substantial legal obstacle to admitting the documents, although the final determination remains with the senator-judges.
“I don’t think so. Again, we have to clarify, we’re just talking about the documentary evidence,” Tolosa explained.
The prosecution submitted its formal offer of evidence after completing the presentation of Article II, leaving the defense to challenge the admissibility of records involving Duterte’s declared assets, business interests and financial transactions.
“Ang SALN at BIR, galing ‘yan mismo sa Vice Presidente. These are notarized,” Tolosa pointed out.
The questioned documents include Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), tax declarations, banking records and reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which prosecutors used to support allegations of undeclared wealth.
“Ito yung mga AMLC records, these are official records and explained by the Executive Director,” Tolosa emphasized.
Republic Act No. 1405, or the Bank Secrecy Law, expressly provides an exception to bank deposit confidentiality in cases of impeachment, although the defense may still raise separate objections concerning the relevance, authenticity and admissibility of particular documents.
“Tapos yung pinag-usapan natin ng banks, these are subpoena documents,” Tolosa explained.
The defense has questioned whether certain banking records should be admitted, while the prosecution maintains that the documents were obtained through subpoenas issued after the impeachment court considered the parties’ competing arguments.
“They’ll still raise yung bank secrecy rule and pareho pa rin naman na exemption na mag-apply dyan which is impeachment proceedings and exemption,” Tolosa said.
“So we don’t see any technical issues coming up. So we’re hoping pagdating dito sa November 9,” he added, expressing hope that the court would resolve the documentary objections before the defense begins presenting its evidence.
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