Justice · Duterte impeachmentSara Duterte bank accounts: Prosecutors say existing evidence is enoughWritten November 14, 2026 at 2:12 PM UTCWatchTranscript0:00Sarah Duterte bank accounts.0:02Prosecutors say existing evidence is enough.0:06Duterte's prosecutors see no need for more evidence after the disclosure of her0:11dollar accounts.0:11They're putting their existing financial case at the center of a trial that could0:15remove the Philippine vice president.0:17Conviction requires sixteen Senate votes.0:19On November12 , we reported that a BPI letter confirmed dollar accounts and the0:23defense dropped a bank witness.0:25Prosecutors now say they're satisfied with the evidence they've already presented.0:29What will the defense answer when hearings resume, and can prosecutors still use the0:32BPI material?0:33Prosecution counsel Benjamin Tolosa Jr.0:36says the team doesn't need additional evidence.0:38His statement shifts attention back to the financial records already presented.0:42Even though nobody has disclosed the dollar balances or whether Duterte declared0:46them, Tolosa made that statement on November14.0:49The defense's withdrawal of bank witnesses is also much broader than the single0:53withdrawal described in the earlier broadcast.0:55The Senate is hearing the case in Passe City.0:57Tolosa spoke at a news forum in Kezan City.1:00Two days after prosecutors questioned the defense's decision to drop the BPI1:04official they wanted to cross examine.1:06The defense removed all sixteen bank officials from its witness list.1:09Fifteen were withdrawn on November11.1:11BPI Senior Vice President Paul Weismail followed on November twelve, ending the1:15opportunity to question him at that session.1:17Those prospective witnesses came from eight banks.1:20They hadn't all testified and then taken back their evidence.1:23The final withdrawal stopped prosecutors from cross, examining Weismail about the1:27BPI documents, including the information about dollar accounts.1:30Defense counsel Michael Poa said Wasmail was no longer needed because Poa had1:34already acknowledged writing the inquiry letter.1:36Weismail was supposed to authenticate it, confirming its origin.1:40The letter had been marked as a defense exhibit.1:42Poa's acknowledgement concerned his own letter.1:44Whether Duterte properly disclosed her assets requires a separate judgment about the1:48financial evidence.1:49Pelosa also said other withdrawn bank representatives were meant to authenticate1:53letters sent by Duterte's husband, Manesus Carpio.1:57That was a different set of letters from Poa's inquiry.1:59Prosecution spokesperson Zia Alanto Adion said bank managers had confirmed accounts2:04belonging to Duterte, Carpio and companies where they held financial interests.2:08He alleged that some balances were missing from Duterte's sworn asset declarations.2:12Those declarations are called statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth, or2:16salins.2:17Disclosure rules include a public official's spouse's assets and financial2:20interests.2:21Adeon called the bank evidence an indisputable fact.2:24The impeachment court hasn't ruled that the alleged wealth was undeclared or2:27unexplained.2:28Prosecutors cite forensic accounting expert Alexander Cabrera's earlier calculation2:33of at least eight hundred and seventeen point eight seven million pesos in alleged2:36unexplained wealth and undeclared assets.2:38It concerns Duterte and Carpio from two thousand and twenty two through two thousand2:42and twenty-five, refining the earlier description of four years.2:45Cabrera's broader earlier estimate ranged from eight hundred and seventeen point2:49eight seven million pesos to one point five billion pesos.2:51Telosa also cited year end balances exceeding twenty million pesos and thirty2:56million pesos in certain years.2:57He didn't identify which accounts or years those examples concerned, so they can't3:02be added together or assigned to the dollar accounts.3:04Telosa said the defense hadn't challenged the accounts' authenticity when3:08prosecutors presented them.3:09He also said no defense witness had denied their existence or directly disputed the3:14records.3:14Senators still have to decide whether the assets were adequately declared and3:18explained.3:19By November12, trial day forty three, the defense had presented six witnesses over3:23four hearing days.3:24Prosecutors said those witnesses hadn't directly rebutted Cabrera's calculation.3:28The defense was still presenting its case.3:30Withdrawing an authentication witness doesn't settle the unexplained wealth charge.3:34Subscribe to this channel to follow the defense's next hearings and what happens to3:38the BPI evidence.3:39Telosa says bank secrecy laws restricted access to other foreign currency accounts,3:44so those records weren't subpoenaed.3:45He also cited foreign currency transaction records already presented for Cali3:49eighty-eight, a company described as forty-seven point five percent owned by Carpio.3:53He supplied no transaction amount for Calde88.3:56Company transaction records don't tell senators Duterte's personal dollar.4:00Account balance and Carpio's partial ownership doesn't turn all company funds into4:04his personal assets.4:05Tolosa's explanation of the subpoena limits also leaves the court to address any4:09later attempt to obtain or use more records.4:12House prosecutor Joel Chua acknowledged that prosecutors could only guess why the4:15defense withdrew Wise Mail.4:16He likened potential questioning to opening a Pandora's box.4:19Edion suggested it could expose more amounts needing explanation.4:23Those were their suspicions about defense strategy.4:25Poe's stated reason was saving time because he'd already acknowledged his letter.4:29Holding a foreign currency account is lawful.4:32The charge concerns whether Duterte's assets were properly declared and explained,4:35and the dollar account disclosure hasn't produced another quantified allegation.4:39Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero left prosecutors several later ways to4:43raise the BPI material.4:44On November12 , he declined an additional prosecution statement at that point4:48because the prosecution had already rested its case.4:51He allowed for a tender of excluded evidence, which preserves material the court4:54hasn't accepted.4:55Or its discussion in written arguments and closing arguments.4:58Prosecutors could also seek to present rebuttal evidence after the defense rests.5:02Tolosa's latest statement leaves those possible uses open, but whether prosecutors5:06will pursue them is still unclear.5:08The BPI letter's final admission into evidence also remains unresolved.5:12Marking a document as an exhibit is one stage of that process.5:15An older BPI transaction involved a joint account held by Sarah Duterte and her5:20father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.5:22Anti-money laundering counsel executive director Ronald Buenaventura described that5:27account at the Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City during October testimony.5:31A covered transaction report recorded a nine point one million peso withdrawal in5:35April2013.5:36That predates Cabrera's2022 ,2025 calculation and concerns a separate piece of5:41evidence.5:42The transaction report itself doesn't prove the money was illicit.5:45The trial now concerns Article2 , the sole remaining charge of alleged unexplained5:49wealth.5:49Prosecutors dropped three of the original four articles on October13 .5:53The immediate opportunity for the defense to answer the existing financial case5:57comes at the next scheduled hearings.5:59The next hearings are scheduled for November19 and20 , five days after Tolosa's6:03forum.6:04The Senate then pauses the trial to focus on the two thousand and twenty-seven6:07national budget.6:08The next trial day is expected on December one.6:10Prosecutors say their existing evidence is enough, while the defense still has its6:14opportunity to answer it.6:16The defense's completion date and the schedule for closing arguments or a vote6:19haven't been announced.6:20December one is the expected resumption of testimony.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
