Presiding Officer Chiz Escudero on Monday issued a formal ruling granting the prosecution’s request to subpoena bank, corporate, and tax records linked to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, in connection with Article 2 of the impeachment complaint.
“The Court finds that the requested documents meet the requirements set forth above — they are reasonably described, readily identifiable, and prima facie relevant and material to the allegations under Article 2,” Escudero declared.
Escudero noted that examining bank records is not unprecedented, recalling that the Senate allowed similar requests during the impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
He overruled the defense’s objection to the coverage period of 2007 to 2021, as well as objections concerning separate and joint accounts of Carpio and Duterte.
The ruling also granted the subpoena for records of the Carpio law partnership, subject to reservation, and approved the request for peso-denominated accounts of 19 corporate entities allegedly linked to the Vice President. Escudero summarized: “The request for subpoenas directed to the concerned banking institutions covering the accounts of respondent Atty. Manases Carpio, separately or jointly, the partnership of Carpio lawyers, and 19 listed corporate entities is granted. The banks are ordered to submit the documents to the Clerk of Court on July 30, 2026 at 9 a.m.”
On the issue of tax records, Escudero rejected the defense’s argument that issuing subpoenas would usurp the authority of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
He clarified that a subpoena is preliminary and procedural, and does not authorize disclosure of tax records as evidence. The court ultimately granted the subpoena for the respondent’s tax records. # (RRN)
