Camille Naredo

Defense spokesperson Michael Poa during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 20, 2026. Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit

The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, on Monday, July 20, 2026, issued a resolution on the prosecution panel’s request to subpoena the financial documents of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The court granted subpoenas for Duterte’s tax records from 2007 to 2021, peso-denominated bank accounts of the Vice President and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, and Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records covering them, 19 corporate entities, and the Carpio Lawyers partnership.
On the other hand, the court denied requests for records of JTC Group of Companies Philippines, Inc. and Pikimong Pikimong Philippines Corporation, citing no established link to Duterte or her spouse. It also rejected demands for foreign-currency deposits, which remain confidential under Republic Act No. 6426.
Subpoenas for Carpio Lawyers’ financial records were partially granted, subject to attorney-client privilege, while AMLC disclosures must be submitted in camera to safeguard sensitive methodologies.
For the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the subpoena was authorized as a preliminary step, with disclosure contingent on compliance with statutory exceptions under the National Internal Revenue Code.
Before ruling on the petition, senator-judges asked the defense and prosecution panels whether the subpoenas constituted a “fishing expedition” or a legitimate effort to investigate allegations of unexplained wealth.
“After a careful examination of the records requested, the court finds that the requested documents meet the requirements set forth above. They are reasonably described, readily identifiable, prima facie relevant, and material to allegations related to Article II,” the resolution, read by Presiding Officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero, stated.
Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit

Article (news)

VP Sara Impeachment

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178531283229320260721-senate-vp-sara-impeachment-day7-SSMU-JV-3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Defense spokesperson Michael Poa during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 20, 2026. Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media UnitDefense spokesperson Michael Poa during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 20, 2026. Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Defense spokesperson Michael Poa during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 20, 2026. <em>Joseph B. Vidal, Senate Social Media Unit</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team skipped cross examinations for two former Land Bank branch managers on Wednesday, saying that their testimonies are non-issues on the case.</p><p>Former Land Bank managers Violeta Constantino and Nenita Camposano took the witness stand on the 10th day of Duterte’s impeachment trial to confirm that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education had withdrawn some P500 million and P112.5 million, respectively, in 2023.</p><p>“Well, sa totoo lang, it wasn&#x27;t really on the legal strategy side. It was more of doon naman sa naging testimonya ng witness, wala naman tayong nakitang issue doon,” Defense spokesperson Michael Poa said in a press conference.<strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/29/status-quo-presentation-of-evidence-observed-in-duterte-impeachment-trial-1431"> </a></strong></p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/29/status-quo-presentation-of-evidence-observed-in-duterte-impeachment-trial-1431"><strong>Status quo presentation of evidence observed in Duterte impeachment trial</strong></a></div><p>“Wala namang questionable, wala namang damaging na nailabas ang ating witness… I didn&#x27;t want to prolong the proceedings and, you know, be petty by asking questions pa kung hindi naman kinakailangan,” he said.</p><p>“Hindi naman kine-question yung validity noong encashment, ‘di ba? So, I really didn&#x27;t, I thought it was petty for  us to even dwell on that,” he said. </p><p>The defense also deemed it unnecessary to dwell on whether or not the former bank executives saw the OVP and DepEd’s transactions as either unusual or suspicious, Poa said.</p><p>“That is the opinion kasi of the bank manager based on her experience. So sa atin, kung yun ang opinion niya, yun ang opinion niya, but that doesn&#x27;t change anything or that does not put anything at issue dito sa case kasi ang pinag-uusapan naman dito, hindi ba yung use of the funds, no? It&#x27;s not the withdrawal of the funds,” he said.</p><p>“Again, I&#x27;m overusing the word. Parang masyado ng petty talaga kung pati yun ipatulan pa natin,” he said.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/29/ovp-s-p500m-bank-withdrawal-unusual-ex-landbank-exec-says-1225"><strong>OVP’s cash withdrawals ‘unusual’ — ex-bank managers </strong></a> </div><p>The defense, however, found it crucial to raise clarifications on why Edward Fajarda —  the DepEd’s special disbursing office — had to use the bank’s fire exit after the encashment of millions of public funds.</p><p>“Just to dispel any insinuations, doubts, whatever as to bakit sa fire exit,” he said.</p><p>“Para lang hindi na magkaroon ng any negative connotation,” he added.</p><p>Meantime, Poa confirmed that the defense has objected to a side bar suggestion to revise the flow of proceedings to allow Duterte’s lawyers to immediately present their evidence for each article after the prosecution’s turn.</p><p>Because of the defense’s objection, the Senate impeachment court had decided to proceed with its original schedule of tackling the prosecution’s evidence for all articles, before the defense gets its turn to present.</p><p>“I cannot go into the details of that because as you know, talagang nawarningan na kami last week about speaking and discussing the merits of the case in public or even all of these things that we filed,” Poa said. “</p><p>Ang pinagagalingan lang naman ang posisyon namin is where the burden of proof actually lies, and the burden of proof lies with the prosecution so dapat tapusin nila yung kaso,” he said.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/29/-alarming-and-concerning-impeachment-prosecution-flags-spliced-chel-diokno-video-1420"><strong>‘Alarming and concerning’: Impeachment prosecution flags spliced video of Chel Diokno’s oral argument </strong></a> </div><p>Poa remains as the defense spokesperson as the panel continues to look for his replacement following Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero’s advice for the competing sides to consider appointing spokespersons who would not be covered by the court’s sub judice rule.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WATCH:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="960" height="540" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z6WZYie3IKA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team skipped cross examinations for two former Land Bank branch managers on Wednesday, saying that their testimonies are non-issues on the case.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team skipped cross examinations for two former Land Bank branch managers on Wednesday, saying that their testimonies are non-issues on the case.

'We don’t want to be petty': Sara Duterte's defense sees no need to question ex-bank execs, says encashment 'not an issue'

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'We don’t want to be petty': Sara Duterte's defense sees no need to question ex-bank execs, says encashment 'not an issue'

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 29, 2026 04:16 PM PHT

Read More:

Sara Duterte

Sara Duterte impeachment trial

Michael Poa

Landbank

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