VP Sara Duterte Impeachment: Evidence Under Scrutiny as Trial Focuses on Financial Records

VP Sara Duterte Impeachment: Evidence Under Scrutiny as Trial Focuses on Financial Records

By Bing Jabadan – TheNATIONWEEK.com | July 15, 2026

MANILA, Philippines – The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is intensifying, with proceedings now pivoting to a crucial legal battle over her bank and tax records. While no witnesses are scheduled to appear on Wednesday, July 15, both the prosecution and defense panels are prepared to present oral arguments regarding the issuance of subpoenas for these financial documents. This move underscores the prosecution’s allegations of unexplained wealth and undeclared assets, central to Article II of the impeachment complaint.

Each panel will be granted 15 minutes for their initial oral arguments, followed by 10 minutes for rebuttal, before senator-judges deliberate and rule on the subpoena request.

The focus on financial records follows the conclusion of the prosecution’s presentation under Article IV, which centered on alleged assassination threats made by Vice President Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez. National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc completed his testimony on Tuesday, the fifth day of the trial, detailing the NBI’s assessment of Duterte’s intent, motive, and capability to carry out these alleged threats.

Notably, the prosecution withdrew two scheduled witnesses, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, Duterte’s chief of staff, and Capt. Belinda Bello, Executive Director of the House Legislative Security Bureau. Prosecutors stated their testimonies had become unnecessary or merely corroborative given the evidence already presented.

Duterte Dismisses Allegations as Unsubstantiated

Vice President Sara Duterte has consistently maintained that the impeachment complaint lacks evidentiary support. In a statement released Tuesday, she asserted that the proceedings thus far have demonstrated that the allegations against her are “unsupported by evidence.”

Referring to the fourth day of the trial, which highlighted Lotoc’s testimony concerning alleged threats under “Oplan Romanov” and her November 2024 press conference, Duterte accused the prosecution of fabricating claims. “Repeatedly claiming that there were threats when none existed, inventing an assassin where there was none, and fabricating evidence to support those claims does not transform fiction into fact,” she stated.

Duterte emphasized that such actions “undermine the integrity of public institutions, erode public trust, waste public resources, and corrupt the search for truth,” stressing that impeachment proceedings must be grounded in “credible evidence, not speculation, manufactured narratives, or unsupported allegations.”

During her November 2024 online press conference, the Vice President made highly publicized and expletive-laden remarks, stating, “Put*ng ina ninyong lahat—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma’am, sa security ko, kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.” (Expletive to all of you—Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Don’t worry about my security because I have already spoken to someone. I told that person that if I am killed, they should kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.) She added, “No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. ‘Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.” (No joke. I already gave instructions that if I die, don’t stop until you have killed them.)

NBI Testimony and Defense Challenges

NBI Regional Director Jeremy Lotoc testified that investigators found evidence suggesting Duterte had the intent, motive, and capability to execute her alleged threats. He also stated that the NBI considered former President Rodrigo Duterte’s case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a factor in assessing the Vice President’s capability, noting her relationship to the former president.

Under cross-examination, Lotoc acknowledged a lack of personal knowledge regarding Duterte contracting an individual to kill the President or other targets. However, he maintained that the NBI’s gathered evidence linked her to such a plot. Lotoc further asserted that typographical errors and document inconsistencies, highlighted by the defense, did not alter the NBI’s findings of grave threats and inciting to sedition. On the sedition charge, Lotoc clarified that actual sedition is not required for the offense of inciting to sedition, as the law penalizes attempts to overthrow the government or disturb public peace.

The term “Oplan Romanov” was also discussed, with Lotoc and Senator-judge Erwin Tulfo noting its public emergence from Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte in reference to alleged threats against the Marcos family.

The prosecution panel, represented by Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, sharply pushed back against the defense’s strategy of pointing out document discrepancies, arguing that such actions do not diminish the underlying threats. Ridon presented a dilemma for the defense: if Duterte did not contract a hitman, her November 2024 statements were lies; if the statements were true, she made real threats, thus positioning her as either a lying or a threatening official. The prosecution questioned her fitness for the presidency on these grounds.

Outside the witness testimony, Presiding Officer Francis Escudero announced the impeachment court would rule on the prosecution’s subpoena request for Duterte’s financial records on Wednesday, following oral arguments. Meanwhile, NBI Director Melvin Matibag’s testimony has been reset for July 20, citing his attendance at an FBI-hosted regional summit on transnational crime in Bangkok, a rescheduling that drew criticism from Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano.

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