THE House prosecution is ready to begin presenting evidence next week on Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s alleged unexplained wealth, with more than 1,800 financial documents and up to 25 potential witnesses in its current lineup.
Among those expected to testify is former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, while potential witnesses include Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla or his representative and officials or authorized representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
“Ayoko namang pangunahan iyong team kung sino or ano iyong order of witnesses, pero Trillanes is coming,” Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V said during a press briefing Wednesday.
Ortega, who endorsed one of the impeachment complaints that became the basis for the Articles of Impeachment now on trial, described the upcoming presentation as potentially one of the strongest parts of the prosecution’s case.
“This will be one of the strongest. And if ibe-base n’yo nga po doon sa Committee on Justice hearings before, ito iyong parang ano, noong time na na-present iyong mga records na ito, ito iyong parang time na nanlamig iyong buong hearing,” Ortega said.
“So again, this will be explosive, this will be exciting, at patuloy po nating panoorin ang impeachment trial,” the La Union lawmaker said.
House prosecutor Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the prosecution is shifting to Article II after completing its presentation on Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds under Article I.
“By next week sisimulan na po natin ang presentation ng unexplained wealth,” Chua said.
Article II accuses Duterte of betrayal of public trust for allegedly accumulating wealth disproportionate to her lawful income and failing to fully and truthfully disclose her and her spouse’s assets and liabilities in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).
The prosecution has cited Duterte’s SALNs from 2019 to 2024, including her 2024 SALN declaring a net worth of about P88.5 million and zero cash on hand or in banks.
It has also cited an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report covering 663 transactions involving Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, with an aggregate value of about P6.77 billion. Of this amount, transactions totaling about P3.77 billion were linked to Duterte and about P2.99 billion to Carpio.
The prosecution has since obtained subpoenaed bank records and BIR tax records involving Duterte, Carpio and companies linked to them, which prosecutors intend to examine against the SALNs and AMLC information as they present Article II.
House prosecutors Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon and Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, who are handling the unexplained wealth charge, are eyeing around 10 witnesses in addition to as many as 15 bank representatives, according to Chua.
The number could be reduced if the defense agrees to stipulations involving bank records or if prosecutors determine that additional testimony would merely be corroborative.
“Dahil nga sa volume ng bank record, we will explore that option to stipulate para mas mapabilis,” Chua said.
The prosecution is preparing more than 1,800 bank, tax and other financial documents and has served Duterte’s defense with 104 requests for admission involving, among others, the authenticity of subpoenaed bank records and ownership of accounts identified in them.
Chua said Trillanes would be an important witness, noting that some financial information he previously presented during the House Committee on Justice proceedings was cross-checked against AMLC records.
“Yes, mahalaga po iyong magiging testimonya ni Senator Trillanes,” Chua said.
The prosecution is also keeping open the option of calling Duterte herself as a witness, although Chua said its case would remain strong whether or not she appears.
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