Politics · Philippines Bureau
Court allows VP Duterte's 2007 financial disclosures as baseline evidence
The Senate Impeachment Court presiding officer has permitted prosecutors to present Vice President Sara Duterte's financial records from 2007 to establish a baseline for comparison during her ongoing impeachment trial.
LSN Philippines ·
MANILA — Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero has approved the prosecution's request to submit Vice President Sara Duterte's Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) dating back to 2007, predating her assumption of the vice presidency.
The decision, made during Tuesday's resumption of impeachment proceedings, allows prosecutors to use the 16-year-old financial disclosure documents to establish a baseline reference point. The move is expected to enable the prosecution to track changes in the vice president's financial holdings over time.
Escudero's ruling permits a comparative analysis of Duterte's asset declarations across multiple years, a strategy commonly employed in financial investigations to identify significant shifts or discrepancies in reported wealth. The baseline approach is intended to provide context for evaluating more recent financial disclosures made during her tenure as vice president.
The impeachment trial against the vice president continues as both prosecution and defense present evidence and arguments before the chamber.