ICYMI LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial (September 15, 2026) - GMA Network
Vice President Sara Duterte's exit Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for 2013, the year her first term as Davao City Mayor ended, was not found in the Ombudsman's records, an official of the Office of the Ombudsman said Tuesday.
Ombudsman Records Division officer-in-charge Karen Batu made the testimony during Day 25 of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte during the questioning of Senator judge Sherwin Gatchalian on whether the Vice President’s SALN filings are complete.
The Ombudsman is the official repository of the government officials' SALNs.
The House prosecution panel on Tuesday flagged Vice President Sara Duterte’s non-declaration of cash in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for seven years amid the exponential increase in her net worth, saying these should match the Vice President’s tax payments and source of income.
“For Day 25 of the impeachment trial, this is titled Ang Tanging Yaman ni VP Sara. Pitong taong walang cash na idineklara. Ang nakalagay sa batas, ang cash on hand at cash in bank ay dapat [ideklara], at ito ay dapat tukoy na idineklara sa ilalim ng RA 6713,” lawyer Hez Montalan, deputy spokesperson of the House prosecution panel, said, referring to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The Senate impeachment court has issued a modified order for Gerardo del Rosario, Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) Director of the state-run Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to testify before the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero reissued the subpoena upon the request of House prosecutor Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list on Tuesday, after Ridon asked for the rescheduling of del Rosario’s testimony to next week, citing voluminous documents involved.
The defense team's cross-examination of witness Karen Batu of the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, the 25th day of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, was conducted by attorney Justin Nicol Gular.
A senior associate at Fortun Narvasa & Salazar Law, Gular also serves as the defense team's deputy spokesperson.
Lawyer James Bryan Ibrahim Alih conducted the direct examination of witness Karen Batu for the prosecution on Tuesday, the 25th day of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
One of the private lawyers joining the panel of House prosecutors, Alih is a senior associate of Pecabar Law, the law firm formerly known as Ponce Enrile Reyes & Manalastas and founded by the late former senator Juan Ponce Enrile.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said that it has not received a request to withdraw Vice President Sara Duterte’s military security detail, so it will continue guarding her.
This came after National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said that Duterte was free to request the withdrawal of her security detail if she did not feel safe around them.
Vice President Sara Duterte's defense team said Tuesday it has strategies in place should the time come when her counsels need to explain the movement of figures in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
"We have a strategy on that matter, actually. Obviously, without disclosing the specifics, I will also not deny na siyempre napag-isipan na ng depensa kung paano natin gagawin 'yan," defense team spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said.
(We actually have a strategy on that matter. Obviously, without disclosing the specifics, I will also not deny that the defense has naturally thought about how we will handle that.)
"Asahan ninyo na lang po at abangan ninyo na lang po pag kami naman ang nagprisinta ng ebidensya, kung sakaling may mga kailangan ipaliwanag du'n sa mga nakalagay," he added.
(You can expect and watch out for that when it is our turn to present evidence, should there be things that need to be explained there.)
The Senate impeachment court on Tuesday encouraged the public to submit questions for the retired Supreme Court justices who will appear as amici curiae (friends of the court) to help resolve questions on the voting threshold for convicting Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a press conference, court spokesperson lawyer Regie Tongol said the public may submit questions through the Senate of the Philippines’ official Facebook page.
Do politicians or government workers really tell the whole truth in their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN)? Senator-judge Lito Lapid put that question to an Office of the Ombudsman official on Tuesday as he underscored the document’s importance in holding public officials accountable.
Lapid posed the question to lawyer Karen Batu, the Ombudsman Records Division officer-in-charge, whom the prosecution presented as a witness on Tuesday to testify on Vice President Sara Duterte’s SALN submissions.
Vice President Sara Duterte should resign first before calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down, House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union said Tuesday.
Ortega was responding to Duterte’s comments last weekend following her arraignment in the grave threat case she is facing over her alleged threat to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
