LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte Impeachment Trial (August 5, 2026)

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday took judicial notice of the hearings and certain records of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In granting the prosecution's motion, Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero stressed that the judicial notice is limited to recognizing the factual existence and official character of the House committee hearings.

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday directed the prosecution and defense panels in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte to agree on a date to compare the 845 acknowledgment receipts (ARs) submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in liquidating its P125 million confidential funds in 2022.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero issued the directive after ordering both parties to meet before the Senate Clerk of Court outside the trial proceedings to compare their separately marked copies of the ARs.

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has entered its second month, with the Senate impeachment court now delving into the technical details surrounding the alleged misuse of confidential funds under Article I.

One of the key terms that surfaced during the proceedings is "evidence of success."

The joint circular on confidential funds is repeatedly being cited during Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial, with a former state auditor testifying that the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) liquidation reports covering P125 million in confidential funds did not comply with the document.

What is it exactly?

Joint Circular No. 2015-01 provides the guidelines on the entitlement, release, use, reporting, and audit of confidential funds and intelligence funds.

It was signed in January 2015 by the Commission on Audit, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Governance Commission for GOCCs, and the Department of National Defense.

The circular states that as the utilization of such funds is confidential and classified by nature, it requires “strong internal controls” and “strict accounting and auditing rules to prevent mishandling or improper applications of the funds.”

The Supreme Court (SC) En Banc on Wednesday dismissed the consolidated petitions filed by Vice President Sara Duterte and several lawyers to stop the impeachment proceedings against her, ruling that they are moot as the Senate impeachment court is already on its Day 13 of trial

In a statement, the SC said that the issues raised in the petitions had become moot, or no longer required a resolution, because the House of Representatives had already approved and transmitted the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.

The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday denied the objection of the defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte to the marking of a portion of the affidavit of self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) member Arturo Lascañas as a prosecution exhibit.

Court presiding officer Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero made the ruling on the 13th day of the impeachment trial of Duterte.

“After considering the objections of the respondent, the objection is hereby denied,” Escudero said. 

Are informants of the Office of the Vice President sick?

Senator-judge Risa Hontiveros asked his question to prosecution witness and Commission on Audit’s Roderick Wamil after the state auditor testified that part of the OVP’s P125 million confidential fund allocation for 2022 were used to purchase medicines as rewards for informants.

Among the recipients of the 2022 confidential funds as stated in the Acknowledgment Receipts submitted by the OVP to COA is Mary Grace Piattos, who received P70,000.

“Pumunta naman tayo doon sa gamot. 'Di umanong gamot ang ibinigay na reward. So muli, sa karanasan po ninyo sa ICFAO and based on your expertise, normal po ba iyon na gamot ang kapalit ng intelligence information?” Hontiveros said during Day 13 of the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

The certification issued by the former security chief of the Vice President Sara Duterte that no untoward incident occurred from December 20 to 31, 2022 does not prove that OVP’s confidential fund was used for successful information gathering or surveillance activities, state auditor and lawyer Roderick Wamil said Wednesday.

Wamil made the testimony when asked by Senator-Judge and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian as to why such the certification issued by Colonel Raymund Lachica of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group does not make the OVP compliant with Joint Circular 2015-01, which governs the use of confidential and intelligence funds.

“Since we based our findings kung ano po 'yung wordings ng Joint Circular, ang tinitignan namin ‘yung causal link between the successful information gathering and surveillance activities vis-a-vis 'yung information given by the informer,” Wamil said during Day 13 of the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

The order of the Commission on Audit to the office of Vice President Sara Duterte to return the disbursed P73 million confidential fund in 2022 is final unless the Supreme Court issues a temporary restraining order, state auditor and lawyer Roderick Wamil said Wednesday.

Wamil was referring to the notice of disallowance that COA issued since the documents submitted by the OVP were insufficient to prove how the P73 million in confidential funds was spent.

Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Wednesday ruled that lawyer Michael Poa has no conflict of interest in serving as defense counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte despite his participation in a 2023 meeting with the Commission on Audit (COA) on the use of confidential funds.

Escudero made the clarification on the 13th day of the impeachment trial after Senator-Judge Raffy Tulfo raised a point of order regarding Poa's role in the proceedings.