It is the first time that the trial was held for the entire week.
Over the past few days, the Senate Impeachment Court resumed hearing the Prosecution’s presentation of witnesses and pieces of evidence in relation to Article II of the raps filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, which is in relation to her alleged unexplained wealth.
Here is a rundown of what happened during the week, which also marked the first time that the proceedings were held for an entire week since it began last July.
DAY 33 (October 5, Monday)
On Monday, the Prosecution presented Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Atty. Ronel Buenaventura, who testified before the court.
But before that, Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero denied an urgent motion by the defense counsel to block his testimony, citing a supposed violation of Republic Act No. 1405 (Bank Secrecy Law).
In Escudero’s view, the law does not apply to the Senate impeachment court, which is considered a constitutional body.
During which, the court unsealed records revealing 666 transaction reports and 55 suspicious transaction reports involving the Vice President and Second Gentleman Atty. Manases Carpio and their corporate entities, totalling to PHP4.4 billion.
Also presented before the court were supposed inward transactions from China and Hong Kong to Cale88 Foods, as well as a supposed single-day transaction of VP Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, amounting to PHP193 million in 2014.
DAY 34 (October 6, Tuesday)
Meanwhile, in the defense counsel’s cross-examination of the AMLC Executive Director on Tuesday, it was brought up by tbhs defense that covered transaction reports (CTRs) ffom the AMLC do not automatically indicate illegal activity or definitive proof of ownership.
After Buenaventura was excused, two bank managers from the Landbank, Eunice Sumatra and Raquel dela Cerna.
The former, who serves in the San Pedro Branch, to authenticate secondary corporate and personal financial logs belonging to the second couple.
As for the latter, she authenticated local banking records and presented specific year-end balances from 2022 to 2025 for an account ending in 2730, which was registered under the name of Duterte’s husband.
Meanwhile, both sides also agreed to let custodians submit authenticated bank ledgers directly to the Senate Clerk of Court to fast track the process.
DAY 35 (October 7, Wednesday)
The following day, Wednesday, but came the longest session happened as multiple witnesses appeared before the court to trace over 30 accounts, both active and not, across different banks that are linked to VP Duterte, Atty. Carpio, and those affiliated with them.
There, the prosecution raised that combined bank balances and active insurabce polices between 2022 and 2025, which have a cumulative asset value exceeding PHP190 million, was not declared Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of the Vice President.
They also attempted to dig deeper unto whether the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) maintained foreign currency or offshore accounts for Duterte and her husband, but the defense’s objection was sustained by the Presiding Officer, who ruled the inquiry strictly fell outside the authorized scope of the subpoena.
Meanwhile, it was also pointed out that Atty. Carpio closed down multiple bank accounts in July 2026, the same month the trial commenced.
DAY 36 (October 8, Thursday)
Atty. Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez, who is the Chief of Staff of the Office of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), was there to produced the verified Income Tax Returns (ITRs), audited financial statements, and Statement of Management Responsibility documents signed by VP Duterte in her 2025 filings.
According to the testimony she made during the directed examination of Atty. Erwin Matib, the after-tax income by the couple amounted to PHP 85,343,803.23 from 2007 to 2025.
Meanwhile, another major point raised during the day was the “other income” listed in the VP’s filings up to 2025, where she indicated ongoing business participation or practice of a profession.
According to Section 13, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution, the Vice President, as well as the President and Cabinet officials are restricted from having secondary employment during their term.
Meanwhile, at the start of the day, the prosecution attempted to swap witnesses and present a forensic financial expert first, without prior notice.
But the defense objected to that, citing that they prepared exclusively for the tax witness and that changing the order without notice was procedurally unfair.
Escudero eventually sustained the objection and the trial proceeded with the scheduled witnesses.
DAY 37 (October 9, Friday)
The following day, the forensic financial expert, Atty. Alexander Cabrera and Maria Teresa Santos, who is Senior Investigator, Financial Fraud Audit Division of the Commission on Audit, apepared before the court to dispense their testimonies.
During which, it was pointed out that the unsealed accounts (assets held in bank accounts and insurance networks) the official tax history, where they reported their net income, when put side-by-side, there was an PHP817.87 million discrepancy.
Meanwhile, for the defense, they argued that raw bank “inflows” include rolling business loans, capital funding, and client trust accounts. These do not equal actual personal disposable net wealth.
They also raised that several of the multi-million joint accounts flagged belonged to former President Rodrigo Duterte, and therfore, are not the personal wealth of the Vice President.
