VP Duterte defense tries to cast aside pre-2022 documents, but Ridon says no

The House prosecution panel has thumbed down a move to exclude records dated before 2022 as evidence in the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon, one of the 11 public prosecutors from the House of Representatives, raised this matter during the fourth day of pre-trial conference (PTC), where prosecution and defense lawyers have been busy with the marking and signing of documentary evidence. In rejecting the defense’s bid, Ridon argued that the respondent Duterte’s current net worth cannot be properly assessed without examining how her assets were accumulated over time–thus the need to include pre-2022 documents as evidence. According to Ridon, the defense panel appeared to believe that records covering periods before Duterte assumed the vice presidency should be excluded from consideration. Duterte became Vice President on June 30, 2022. “I think we have to be very clear that you cannot reach P88.5 million in 2024 without starting from a particular date,” Ridon told reporters on the sidelines of the PTC at the Senate. “Which is why 2007 up until 2024 are relevant dates relating to the current net worth of the VP which is specifically in issue on unexplained wealth,” noted the solon-prosecutor. One of the articles of impeachment accuses Duterte of amassing unexplained wealth, making her statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) and other financial records a key point of dispute between the prosecution and the defense. Ridon said the prosecution’s position is that the allegation cannot be examined by looking only at Duterte’s finances from 2022 onward. Rather, he said, the impeachment court must be allowed to trace the origins and growth of her assets to determine whether her wealth can be adequately explained. “Hindi naman magiging multi-millionaire (One cannot be a multi-millionaire) a single day, in a single year. It should be built from somewhere,” Ridon said of the Vice President’s wealth. The issue traces back to findings presented before the House Committee on Justice, which reviewed Duterte’s SALNs from 2007 to 2024. The records showed her declared net worth rising from about P7.25 million in 2007 to P88.5 million in 2024. The committee cited the significant increase, along with other financial records and disclosures, in supporting the article of impeachment alleging unexplained wealth. The House prosecution panel is expected to present documents and witnesses relating to Duterte’s financial disclosures and asset accumulation once the actual trial begins on July 6.