Day 25 of the impeachment trial against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero allows the prosecution to use Duterte’s pre-2022 SALNs to establish a financial baseline under Article II, while stressing that the older records will not create additional impeachment charges.
Foreign currency held by public officials as cash, bank deposits, stocks or other personal property must be reported in their Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth using the corresponding Philippine peso value, Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Tuesday.
The question emerged on Day 25 of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial when Senator-judge Vicente “Tito” Sotto III asked Ombudsman Records Division Officer-in-Charge Atty. Karen Batu whether foreign-denominated funds are required to be included among an official’s declared assets.
Batu did not give a legal interpretation and said the Ombudsman’s records personnel do not examine every financial entry appearing in the SALNs submitted to the office. Their review, she explained, focuses primarily on the required forms and compliance with a checklist.
Sotto then asked whether Batu had encountered SALNs identifying cash or deposits held in currencies other than the peso. Batu said she could not determine this because her office does not scrutinize declarations item by item.
Escudero stepped in and cited Section 35 of the Omnibus Rules on the SALN, which specifically addresses personal property denominated in foreign currency. Under the provision, cash on hand, money in banks, stocks and similar assets in foreign currencies are converted into their Philippine currency equivalent for purposes of declaration.
The Civil Service Commission issued the Omnibus Rules through CSC Resolution No. 2500632. The rules replaced the guidelines under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 2, series of 2013, and subsequent SALN-related issuances, consolidating requirements for filing, review and access. (Civil Service Commission)
The rules also provide specific procedures for SALNs filed upon assumption of office, annually while in government and upon separation from service. They incorporate digital filing and submission procedures, including online oath-taking, as part of changes introduced for the 2026 filing cycle. (Civil Service Commission)
Sotto said his questions were informed by his experience as a senator-judge during the 2012 impeachment trial of then-Chief Justice Renato Corona, where foreign-currency bank deposits became a major issue in the examination of the chief justice’s financial disclosures.
The exchange occurred as prosecutors presented Duterte’s SALNs under Article II of the impeachment case, which covers allegations involving unexplained wealth, SALN disclosures and business and financial interests. The prosecution must still establish how the documents and financial records support the allegations against Duterte, while the defense may challenge their interpretation, relevance and evidentiary weight.
The discussion also underscores a distinction between how an asset is reported and whether its source is lawful. Converting a foreign-currency holding into pesos satisfies the valuation format described by the SALN rules, but it does not by itself determine whether the underlying funds were properly acquired or whether a particular declaration was complete. Those questions would require separate evidence and findings by the impeachment court.