Senator-judges in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte expressed deep frustration on Wednesday, Aug. 5, over the Commission on Audit’s (COA) failure to go beyond the liquidation documents it reviewed regarding the alleged misused multimillion-peso confidential funds. Roderick Wamil, a former state auditor of the COA’s Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Unit (Icfau),...
Tag: Sara Duterte
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Duterte execs sought COA ‘query’ on secret funds instead of memo, says witness
Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp had tried to persuade the Commission on Audit (COA) not to issue an audit observation memorandum (AOM) during its review of multimillion-peso confidential funds spent by her office and the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2023, according to state auditor Roderick Wamil. Rather than an AOM, Roderick Wamil told the...
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Why Sen. Pia Cayetano should consider recusing herself from the impeachment trial
One of the oldest principles of justice is also one of its simplest: Justice must not only be done, it must also be seen to be done. This principle explains why judges routinely inhibit themselves from cases in which their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. The issue is not always actual bias. More often, it...
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Ex-bank managers say large OVP, DepEd cash withdrawals ‘unusual’
Two former LandBank branch managers found “unusual” the million-peso cash withdrawals by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) between 2022 and 2023 because of the large amounts involved. They said it was the first time they had ever seen these transactions in their banking careers. One of them, Violeta...
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NBI: ‘Less than 20 persons of interest’ in VP kill plot vs Marcos
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now investigating “less than 20 persons of interest” in its search for the individual that Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly ordered to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez if she ends up dead. One of them is a member...
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NBI has ‘persons of interest’ in VP kill plot vs Marcos
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has established “leads” and identified “persons of interest” whom Vice President Sara Duterte might have spoken to in her threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez, its director told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday. But NBI Director Melvin Matibag...
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Impeachment court grants subpoena of Duterte bank, tax records
House prosecutors scored a victory on Monday after the Senate impeachment court approved their request to subpoena the tax and bank records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, as part of their evidence in her ongoing trial. Also ordered to be presented were her records at the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)....
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Senator-judges tackle bid to subpoena VP bank, tax records
The Senate impeachment court has deferred action on the request of House prosecutors to subpoena the bank and tax records of Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial, saying it will rule on the matter on Monday, July 20. Impeachment court presiding officer Francis Escudero said the senator-judges decided on the postponement in a...
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House prosecutors drop VP chief of staff, another as impeachment trial witnesses
House prosecutors have decided to forego presenting Zuleika Lopez, chief of staff of the Office of the Vice President, and another witness on Wednesday’s impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. Private prosecutor Lorna Kapunan told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday that the prosecution panel deemed “totally unnecessary” the testimonies of Lopez and Capt....
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VP threats ‘serious, true, real,’ says NBI witness
The grave threats made by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez in an online news conference on Nov. 23, 2024, were “serious, true, and real” as well as “alarming,” according to a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) executive. Lawyer Jeremy Lotoc, who...