In a significant development for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, the Philippine Senate has officially ordered the disclosure of her bank and tax records. Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero issued the ruling despite strong pushback from Duterte’s legal team and several allied senators who argued that the scope of the inquiry should be limited to her term as vice president. The court has directed banking institutions to surrender documents related to Duterte, her husband, Atty. Manases Carpio, and various associated corporate entities by July 30, 2026. This move is central to the second article of impeachment, which accuses the official of accumulating unexplained wealth and filing inaccurate statements regarding her assets and liabilities.

The push for this evidence stems from previous reports by the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which flagged approximately P6.7 billion in transactions tied to the Vice President and her husband—a figure that critics argue is wildly disproportionate to her official income. Anti-corruption advocates have long pointed to discrepancies between her reported financial status and her actual property holdings, suggesting a pattern of concealed wealth. While the defense attempted to block the move by citing jurisdictional concerns involving the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Senator Escudero maintained that the evidence is essential to the court's pursuit of the truth, noting that the subpoena remains a procedural step in determining the validity of the allegations.