Sara Duterte impeachment trial focuses on unverified confidential fund recipients

Sara Duterte impeachment confidential funds Philippine Statistics Authority Department of Education civil registry

The impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has entered its tenth week, with the prosecution focusing on the verification of confidential fund recipients. Testimony from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande revealed that 1,685 individuals listed as recipients of confidential funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during 2022 and 2023 have no records in the PSA civil registry database.

Specifically, the PSA reported that 1,322 payees of the OVP’s P500-million confidential funds and 405 recipients of DepEd’s P112.5-million funds lacked birth records. Some names on acknowledgment receipts appeared to be unusual, including names resembling food or animals. The defense has contested the prosecution's findings, arguing that the names might be aliases used to protect informants and that the burden of proof lies with the prosecution.

In related legal developments, Duterte posted P360,000 bail for a separate grave-threats case, though officials maintain this does not impact the impeachment proceedings. Meanwhile, the Senate is preparing to vote on September 23 regarding the required voting threshold for the trial, following consultations with legal experts.

Entities

Department of Education · Office of the Vice President · Philippine Statistics Authority · Sara Duterte · Senate of the Philippines

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 2 SOURCES] Defense counsel Justin Dular argued that the prosecution bears the burden of proof to explain and prove every allegation. balita.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Anti-Money Laundering Council reported suspicious transactions totaling P6.77 billion.
[● 2 SOURCES] 405 recipients of Department of Education confidential funds had no birth records. www.inquirer.net · cebudailynews.inquirer.net
[○ 1 SOURCE] The prosecution will present the unexplained wealth article after the confidential funds case wraps up on September 9.
[● 2 SOURCES] 1,322 supposed payees of the OVP’s P500-million confidential funds had no birth records. www.inquirer.net · cebudailynews.inquirer.net
[○ 1 SOURCE] 1,685 individuals listed as recipients of OVP and DepEd confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 have no records in the PSA civil registry database. negrosnowdaily.com
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Senate is expected to vote on September 23 regarding the voting threshold for the impeachment trial.
[○ 1 SOURCE] The prosecution intends to call Vice President Sara Duterte to the witness stand regarding the alleged misuse of confidential funds. www.rappler.com

Sources

Sara Duterte trial recap, Sept. 7: ’11th hour’ admissions, switching articles - Atin Ito | Ontario’s First Filipino Community Newspaper – Trusted News and Stories for the Filipino-Canadian Community [www.atinitonews.com]

3 days ago

‘No PSA records for 1,685 confi fund payees’ [negrosnowdaily.com]

3 days ago

Can Sara Duterte be forced to testify? Her lawyers say no [theglobalfilipinomagazine.com]

3 days ago

LIVE UPDATES: Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Sept. 7, 2026 [www.inquirer.net]

5 days ago

Sara Duterte posts P360K bail, but her impeachment trial pushes on [astig.ph]

4 days ago

Alias issue sparks burden of proof clash in VP Sara trial [balita.com]

4 days ago

Impeachment trial Day 22: PSA exec to verify identities of CF payees [cebudailynews.inquirer.net]

5 days ago

Defense challenges prosecution's plan to call VP Sara as witness [edgedavao.net]

3 days ago

Under an assumed name [opinion.inquirer.net]

3 days ago

Highlights: Day 23 of Sara Duterte impeachment trial | Sept. 8, 2026 [newsinfo.inquirer.net]

3 days ago

Prosecution wants to call Sara Duterte to witness stand [www.rappler.com]

4 days ago