Impeachment trial respondent Vice President Sara Duterte should view her bank and tax records as her own impregnable shield, rather than a smoking gun.

Private prosecutor lawyer Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. offered this paradigm shift to the defense amid the debate on whether or not the Senate impeachment court would allow such documents to be opened and perused in the high-stakes trial.

Speaking in a DZBB interview over the weekend, Tolosa said the very documents the defense has been opposing would provide the clearest proof on whether or not the Vice President’s wealth matches what she declared in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).

“So kung gusto talaga nilang patunayan, na ang amounts ng bank records nila, ng bank accounts nila nitong period na ito ay hindi ganyang kalaki, hindi ho ba dapat sila mismo nga ang magpakita nitong mga bank records nila?” he said.

(So if they really want to prove that the amounts in their bank records, in their bank accounts during this period are not that large, shouldn’t they themselves present these bank records?)

In oral arguments last week, the House prosecution team said the sought bank and tax records dating back to 2007, as well as accompanying Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reports were crucial to proving allegations of unexplained wealth against Duterte.

The defense panel argued that the move was a "fishing expedition"--an attempt fo find fault with Duterte’s finances, where there was supposedly none.

Tolosa pointed out that the prosecution wasn't seeking a general inquiry into all of Duterte's bank accounts. Rather, it is asking the Senate impeachment court to subpoena specific accounts already identified in AMLC reports, complete with the corresponding account numbers and branch information.

He recalled that during the House Committee on Justice’s clarificatory hearings, AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura testified that reports reflected P6.7 billion in covered and suspicious transactions involving the bank accounts of Duterte and her husband from 2005 to 2026.

In response to the disclosed reports, the Vice President’s camp claimed that the amount was inflated because it could have included repeated deposits and withdrawals or transfers between Duterte’s own bank accounts.

Tolosa countered this by saying that those explanations make the disclosure of the actual bank records all the more vital.

“Ngayon ho, itong mga bank accounts, ‘yan na ho ‘yung pinaka magbibigay ng pruweba kung ano ba talaga ang nilalaman ng bank accounts niya ng same period na ‘yan,” said the prosecution's legal spokesperson.

(Now, these bank accounts will serve as the main proof of what the accounts actually contain during that same period.)

Tolosa reiterated that the prosecution’s position is that Duterte did not fully disclose her assets in her SALNs, considering the billions of pesos disparity between the transactions reported by the AMLC and Duterte’s declared net worth of P88.5 million in 2024.

To determine whether she accumulated unexplained wealth, he said the impeachment court must compare the assets declared in her SALNs with her income tax returns (ITRs) filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the AMLC reports, and the balances reflected in her bank records.

Only by examining these documents together, he said, can the impeachment court determine whether Duterte’s total wealth was substantially greater than what she declared while in public office.

Tolosa added that the defense’s continued opposition to releasing the records raises more questions than it answers.

“So the fact na talagang pinipigilan nila na lumabas ito, mayroon hong malaking katanungan na pinapakita sa atin.”

(So the fact that they are really preventing this from coming out raises a big question for us.)