During Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's ongoing impeachment trial in Manila, prosecutors argued on Tuesday that she consistently failed to declare the acquisition cost of her business stocks in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) — the mandatory financial disclosure forms required of all Philippine public officials — dating back to 2007. Court records show ties to at least 20 businesses over the years, and a senator-judge asked whether the omission meant her declared net worth was undervalued, with the prosecution saying that was "possible." Duterte's declared net worth rose from roughly 7 million pesos when she first took office to a peak of 98 million pesos, raising questions about the completeness of her disclosures.
Mosaic News
Sara Duterte impeachment trial: prosecutors argue stocks were omitted from wealth declarations[Updated]
Three retired Supreme Court justices — former chief justices Reynato Puno, Hilario Davide Jr., and Artemio Panganiban — testified before the impeachment court that the two-thirds conviction threshold needed to remove Duterte from office should not be fixed at 16 votes, arguing that senators barred from participating due to legal issues or absence should be excluded from the denominator. The position, if adopted, would lower the number of votes the prosecution needs to secure a conviction, increasing Duterte's chances of removal. A fourth retired justice, Adolfo Azcuna, dissented, maintaining that all 24 senators must be counted to prevent impeachment from being weaponized for political ends. Only 21 of the 24 senator-judges are physically present at the trial, with Senator Bato dela Rosa in hiding over an International Criminal Court warrant, Senator Jinggoy Estrada detained on a plunder charge, and Senator Rodante Marcoleta also facing a plunder case.