Impeachment

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte is important for our democratic system. It allows us to make officials accountable, particularly in the handling of public funds and keeping the public trust overall.

Yet, it seems that Filipinos are not interested in the impeachment trial. They have prioritized their economic survival, survey data from the Pulse Asia and OCTA Research reveal.

Indeed, the impeachment ranks near the very bottom of the public’s immediate priorities, polling just 1.2 percent in a Pulse Asia survey. Only one in 10 Filipinos actively follows VP Sara’s impeachment trial, according to another survey by Momentum Research.

Momentum’s Cleve Arguelles said “the survey data tells us that the public may be aware that the trial is happening, but the proceedings haven’t yet broken through in a way that feels meaningful or legible to the average Filipino.”

As such, Arguelles cautions that “public opinion at this stage is likely to move as the evidence does.”

Those following the impeachment trial were likely bored by the legal calisthenics as lawyers show off. But the most crucial decision made by the Senate acting as the impeachment court so far is allowing the opening of the accounts of VP Sara.

This is essential because it provides the concrete financial evidence needed to prove or disprove allegations of unexplained wealth and the misuse of public funds under Article II of the Articles of Impeachment.

Allowing the examination of the financial records enables prosecutors to map out a clear money trail and compare actual cash flows with her declared Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). Access helps verify suspicious transaction data and multi-billion-peso records revealed during earlier legislative hearings.

That is why RA1405 (the Philippine Bank Secrecy Law) explicitly exempts impeachment proceedings from standard confidentiality protection. It is a legal principle successfully applied during the 2012 trial of then Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The impeachment court subpoenaed all the financial records of VP Sara, from the time she served as vice mayor of Davao City, as mayor and as the vice president.

These files include: Sara’s SALNs, particularly SALNs in 2022 to 2025; BIR Income Tax Returns; cash flow transactions monitored by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) involving all the peso bank accounts of Sara and her husband, Manases Carpio, their 19 corporations and one partnership and the financial records of the Carpio law offices.

Former senator Antonio Trillanes initially revealed those bank documents in 2016 and 2017, and Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang stated at the time that the records “more or less” matched data from the AMLC.

However, the AMLC and the Duterte administration disputed those acknowledgments, leaving the official status of the files hanging.

During the April 2026 House proceedings, the AMLC officially testified that 18 out of 18 randomly selected transactions from Trillanes’ affidavit perfectly matched their independent financial reports.

However, foreign-denominated accounts are not covered. Under the Foreign Currency Deposit Act (RA 6426), foreign-denominated accounts are considered absolutely confidential and can only be examined with the depositor’s explicit written permission.

BSP Deputy Governor Elmore Capule publicly criticized the archaic law, stating it has “frustrated investigators for decades” and allows individuals to block full financial transparency. This is a glaring loophole corrupt officials can resort to.

The impeachment court rejected the claim by the defense that the prosecution is indulging in a “fishing expedition.” It ruled that the prosecution’s request was “reasonably described, readily identifiable and prima facie relevant” to proving or disproving illicit wealth.

Sara’s defense fought hard to keep the documents secret. A failure to open Sara’s bank accounts would be potentially fatal to the outcome of her impeachment trial. Legal experts and prosecutors agree that without direct access to these records, the case regarding financial misconduct would lack the foundational proof needed for a conviction.

Of course, we know the Senate acting as an impeachment court is not in the same realm as a judicial court. While evidence is important, in the end it is a political decision.

But even if VP Sara’s allies in the Senate are able to stop a conviction, the Impeachment Court would have validated financial data on how she may have enriched herself in office. Such information would be useful for voters to decide if she is still worthy of public trust.

Recall that former President Joseph Estrada’s allies in the Senate successfully voted 11–10 to block the opening of bank records. Protesting the suppression of evidence, the entire house prosecution panel walked out of the Senate impeachment court, causing the trial to collapse.

But the suppression of the bank records backfired. Within hours, the decision ignited the EDSA II People Power Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of citizens occupied the streets, forcing Estrada to vacate Malacañang Palace four days later on January 20, 2001.

Making a clear explanation of what all those financial data in VP Sara’s accounts mean is the big challenge for the prosecution panel. Numbers don’t lie but all that data must be well explained to convince the public if indeed, she betrayed the public trust.

The prosecution must use the bank records to clearly show that the money flowing into her accounts flagged by the AMLC is beyond what she has declared in her SALN. Otherwise, allegations under Article II remain allegations.

Legal analysts point out that the financial and confidential fund misuse charges are the most legally substantial aspects of the trial. This is the prosecution’s strongest path to conviction.

A precedent has been set by the 2012 conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona, effectively signaling that the Bank Secrecy Law cannot be used to shield high-ranking officials from accountability.

Eradicating corruption is the second highest concern nationally and actually ranks as the number one issue in Metro Manila. This impeachment trial should respond to that concern. All Filipinos must make sure the Senate does its job.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco