Gear up for impeach trial, senators told

As the signals from the House point to the possible elevation of the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte to the Senate, Senator JV Ejercito revealed that Senate President Tito Sotto has quietly urged the lawmakers to brace for what could be a historic proceeding.

In a radio interview, Ejercito said Sotto recently called a meeting with no specific agenda, but with instructions to the senators to prepare as the impeachment complaint against Duterte may progress and reach the Senate.

“He did not state the agenda; maybe it was just an update,” Ejercito said.

“There was also a request for members of the Blue Ribbon Committee to sign pending documents,” he added.

He clarified that there was no certainty yet of a trial.

“Not necessarily, but he said it seems that is where things are headed because it looks like they will pass it and forward it to the Senate,” Ejercito said.

Impartiality foremost

He said preparations were already being considered should the Senate convene as an impeachment court.

“We are already looking at getting consultants because impeachment is a different legal process,” he said. “We are speaking with individuals who could assist us during the proceedings if the court is convened.”

Ejercito emphasized that the senators must remain impartial despite their perceived political divisions.

“When you convene as an impeachment court, you become senator-judges and you are expected to be impartial,” he said.

“It is difficult to make a head count now because that could show bias. In the end, decisions will depend on the evidence presented,” he said.

He noted that impeachment is both a legal and political process.

“That is correct. It is a combination of legal and political considerations. Accountability is number one, but we will also have to consider whether this will help the country and how we can prevent anomalies,” he said.

Ejercito added that, based on what was relayed to him, no formal decision or vote count was made during the meeting.

“There was no certainty, no counting of votes, and no specific instructions. The only message from Senator Sotto was to prepare because the impeachment case might reach the Senate,” he said.

AMLC: P6.7B transacted

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reported during the House clarificatory hearing that it had observed a total of P6,771,227,712.95 in the accounts of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Mans Carpio, from 2006 to 2025.

In the summary presented by AMLC executive director Ronel Buenaventura, there had been a total of 630 transactions that it had covered with 33 transactions being flagged as suspicious based on their findings.

Buenaventura explained that their system only took into consideration transfer of funds that amount to P500,000 and above.

Among the said transactions, AMLC’s report revealed that the accounts of Duterte had been involved in 371 transactions with amounts reaching as high as P55.158 million.

The council’s executive director further disclosed that a majority of transfers were done through credit memo with an amount of P1.41 billion, debit memos at P1.03 billion, and fund transfers with P521.86 million.

During the presentation of the breakdown of fund transfers, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon noted that the Vice President had transactions between the years of 2019 to 2024 despite the latter’s declaration of not having cash on hand and cash deposits according to her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from the same time frame.

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio also noted that there was a discrepancy of P2.8 billion between the inflow and outflow of funds from Duterte and Carpio’s accounts.