During the Senate trial's 22nd day, prosecutors walked through acknowledgment receipts tied to intelligence-related confidential funds handled by the vice president's office and the Department of Education. Citing testimony from Marizza Grande, an assistant national statistician at the Philippine Statistics Authority, they said nearly two-thirds of the 2,669 names used for those payouts in 2022 and 2023 had no corresponding birth, marriage, or death entries in the civil registry. They also noted the records do not yet show who actually ended up with the money.
Grande testified that some of the listed names lined up with children born between 2020 and 2022, and that one name matched a two-month-old baby who died in 1965. Prosecutors summed it up in court: "Confidential funds were liquidated in the names of the non-existent, the long dead and children."
Duterte's defense said the names on the receipts were not real identities but stand-ins. "These are in fact aliases," said defense lawyer Justin Gular in open court, adding that the details involve classified information.
Several senator-judges pressed on the limits of the civil registry, asking whether gaps could reflect unregistered births or other database shortcomings. Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo said some recipients could have used aliases and that overlaps with birth certificates might be coincidental, while also pointing out that multiple signatures and handwriting on the receipts looked alike and might have been written by one person.
When complex public finance stories surface, steady investing still matters, so download the free Always Be Buying E-Book
Prosecutors say the testimony supports allegations that confidential funds for sensitive intelligence and security activities were mishandled while Sara Duterte served as vice president and as education secretary. During July 2022 through June 2024, she headed the Department of Education, and she had previously been allied with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The impeachment carries heavy consequences. If two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict, she would be removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office; an acquittal would leave her widely viewed as the leading contender for the 2028 presidency. Separately, on Saturday she posted bail of 360,000 pesos ($5,750) in a different criminal case tied to alleged assassination threats against Marcos, said to have taken place in 2024 during an online briefing. She has denied wrongdoing.
This case is about paperwork and receipts, but the stakes are budget oversight and trust. If the Senate concludes public funds were misused, expect louder calls for tighter controls on confidential spending and more scrutiny on agencies that use it. If she is acquitted, the political status quo holds, and with it the current policy path. Either way, the outcome tells you a lot about how the Philippines is policing public money - and that can shape confidence in institutions, the pace of reforms, and how smoothly taxpayer funds are managed.
