Prosecution to advance presentation of evidence on Sara Duterte's alleged unexplained wealth

The House prosecution panel on Monday said they will present in advance Article 2 of the impeachment case, which refers to the alleged unexplained wealth of Vice President Sara Duterte.

House lead prosecutor and Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro said this on the 22nd day of the impeachment trial.

“We understand that in the order of presentation of articles, Article 2, unexplained wealth was placed at the last presentation by the prosecution. Nevertheless, Your Honor, consistent with the compliance and manifestation filed by the prosecution on June 22, 2026, the prosecution exercises its prerogative to advance the presentation of evidence for unexplained wealth,” Luistro said.

She, however, emphasized that the prosecution is not waiving the presentation of evidence for the bribery charge under Article 3 of the impeachment case.

“The only thing that’s been changed, Your Honor, is the order of presentation. We will be proceeding to the unexplained wealth first. After which, we will end with the presentation of evidence for bribery,” Luistro said.

She also clarified that “as of this moment,” the prosecution has decided to maintain both the Articles 2 and 3 in the presentation of evidence.

This came after House prosecution spokesperson Joel Chua said last week that they are considering dropping the bribery charge, as the prosecution wants to focus on what it considers its strongest allegations.

Defense lead counsel Sheila Sison took note of Luistro's manifestation, saying that it is the prerogative of the prosecution to “do whatever it pleases with respect to the order of its presentation.”

Article 2 alleged that Duterte amassed unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official; failed to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN); and failed to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as Vice President.

Meanwhile, Article 3 alleged that the Vice President must be impeached for committing bribery by giving monetary gifts or payments to Department of Education (DepEd) officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws.

‘Equally strong’

During the prosecution’s press conference, Luistro said saving Article 3 for last does not mean that it is a weaker case, emphasizing that all four articles of impeachment are equally strong.

“These are four equally strong articles of impeachment,” Luistro said.

She reiterated the prosecution’s discretion to change the order of presentation of evidence in consideration of the availability of witnesses and other relevant factors.

“And as expressed in the pre-trial order as a matter of fact may discretion ang prosecution to change the order considering the availability of witnesses and other relevant considerations,” Luistro said.

She added that, as also indicated in the panel’s pre-trial brief, they requested more trial days to present the unexplained wealth charge compared to the bribery case, as there are more witnesses and documents to be presented for Article 2. — with Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/RSJ, GMA News