Prosecutors in the impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte have abandoned three of their four charges, saying the one left standing, unexplained wealth, is enough to convict and will get the case moving faster, AP has reported.
Senators, sitting as the impeachment court, approved the request. Duterte’s lawyers objected, calling the decision “completely unfair”. Two of the discarded charges, they said, had already been argued in public hearings, so the vice president has been exposed to damaging allegations that will now go no further.
Sara Duterte is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested last year on International Criminal Court orders over alleged crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drugs crackdowns. AP reported that he remains in ICC custody in the Netherlands, with his trial due to start on November 30. The vice president blames Marcos and his administration for her father’s arrest and transfer to the court.
Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr won office as running mates in 2022, and the partnership has since turned bitter. She intends to run for the presidency in 2028, and a conviction could bar her from public office for good. That the vote needs a two-thirds vote in the 24-member Senate, so the count among senators is now the thing to watch.
Representative Gerville Luistro, who leads the prosecution, told the court the evidence was “substantial and compelling” and warranted removal for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, according to AP. Concentrating on one article shrinks what the court must weigh, she said, and helps the Senate, the respondent and the public alike. She gave no further detail.
The House of Representatives, where Marcos allies hold sway, impeached Duterte in May. Besides unexplained wealth, the complaint accused her of misusing confidential state funds and of bribery, and it cited a public threat to have the president, his wife and a former House speaker assassinated if she herself were killed amid their political disputes. She has broadly denied the allegations. Her trial began in July.
Dropping the three charges means 32 witnesses will no longer have to testify, AP reported. The surviving article alleges that Duterte held wealth she failed to declare as the law requires, and that she and her husband kept prohibited business interests. Prosecutors have called anti-money laundering and tax officials, plus banking and insurance representatives, to back it.
The witness said ....
The sums at stake became clearer on October 12. Forensic financial analyst Alexander Cabrera told the court that Duterte’s unexplained wealth between 2022 and 2025 could reach PHP1.5bn ($23.77mn), according to Philstar Global. That is almost double his earlier estimate of PHP817.87mn, which was based on his review of her financial records.
The higher figure came after Francis Escudero, the court’s presiding officer, asked what the total would be without conservative assumptions. Philstar Global reported that Cabrera said documents alone, excluding confidential funds, support PHP475mn. He added that discrepancies linked to the Anti-Money Laundering Council could account for up to PHP100mn, and that applying a 45% assumption used for GenCorp Industries Inc to undeclared sales could add about PHP250mn. Pressed for a ceiling, he said “about 1.5”, clarified it was below PHP1.6bn, and agreed that no amounts were double-counted across years.
Escudero then tested how much of the original estimate rests on business income attributed to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio. Cabrera had assigned about 25.9%, or PHP212.63mn, to GenCorp. Metro Chow King Foods and Cale 88 Food Corp together account for PHP142.2mn, or 17.3%. Removing all three companies would leave PHP463.05mn drawn from bank accounts and insurance policies, or 56.6% of the original total, which Cabrera confirmed.
The headline number is also not final. Cabrera agreed with Escudero that any unpaid tax liability would be deducted, whether the total is the lower PHP817mn or the upper PHP1.5bn. He added that wealth counts as unexplained not only when its source is unknown but also when the source is illegal, even if it can be traced.
The prosecution presented Cabrera as an expert on Article II of the complaint. That article accuses Duterte of amassing wealth out of proportion to her lawful income, of failing to disclose assets fully in her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, and of keeping prohibited business interests while in office.
Voters want to hear from her
Public opinion is split along regional lines. A Pulse Asia Research Inc survey published on October 14 found that 51% of Filipino adults want Duterte to testify in person, against 34% who do not. A further 14% were undecided and 1% declined to answer. The poll covered 2,400 adults aged 18 and over in face-to-face interviews from September 17 to 24, with a margin of error of ±2% at the 95% confidence level.
According to Pulse Asia, Luzon mirrors the national picture. In the National Capital Region, 66% favour testimony and 21% oppose it, while in the rest of Luzon the split is 61% to 20%. Visayas is evenly divided at 43% on each side, with 11% undecided and 2% declining to answer. In Mindanao, Duterte’s stronghold, only 32% want her to testify and 61% do not, with 7% unable to say and none declining.
Belief in the wealth allegations has shifted only modestly. The share who think them likely to be true rose two percentage points (pp) to 29% in September from 27% in July. Those who think them untrue fell 8pp to 30% from 38%, while the share unable to judge climbed 7pp to 39% from 32%.
Senate rules allow the vice president to appear herself or through counsel. In July she came to the Senate premises but stayed away from the trial and met her advisers instead.