Corona's bank, tax records subpoenaed in past impeachment trial, echoes in VP Duterte's case

The subpoena for bank and tax records in the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte has drawn parallels to the 2012 impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona. The Senate impeachment court on Monday granted the prosecution's request. In Corona's 2012 trial, the House prosecution team asked PSBank and BPI to subpoena his bank records to compare with his declared Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). Like Duterte's defense team, Corona's defense cited the Bank Secrecy Law to block the subpoena. However, in both cases, the impeachment court granted the prosecution's request. The Bank Secrecy Law explicitly lists an impeachment trial as an exemption. Aside from bank records, the impeachment court also allowed the prosecution to use Corona's SALN as evidence. Officials from PSBank and BPI were also summoned by the impeachment court to submit the bank records. At the time, Senator-judge Chiz Escudero asked if Corona's bank records before he became Chief Justice could also be accepted as evidence. Senator-judge Alan Peter Cayetano would later state that initial deposits are part of the "opening documents" that should have been presented to the impeachment court, a sentiment agreed upon by Presiding Officer Juan Ponce Enrile. When Corona was on the witness stand in his own trial, he signed a waiver allowing the court to look into his bank accounts since 2002. He then challenged the 188 House lawmakers who voted to impeach him to do the same. The former chief justice walked out without being dismissed after making his opening statement, prompting Enrile to warn Corona he would be cited in contempt if he did not return. Corona returned an hour later in a wheelchair. Current House prosecutor Rep. Chel Diokno cited Corona's subpoena in his push to disclose Duterte's bank records. However, Duterte's defense team argued that the Corona case cannot be an example, as the Supreme Court (SC) has already made a new ruling in Duterte v. House of Representatives. This is the same court ruling that stopped the first impeachment case against Duterte in 2025 and enacted several new guidelines. The SC decision also stated that while the impeachment process is sui generis (of its own kind), it is not purely political, and the protections afforded to an individual in the Bill of Rights still apply. Despite this, the impeachment court still voted to obtain Duterte's bank records, with Presiding Officer Escudero saying the prosecution was able to provide sufficient justification for the subpoena. Source: GMA News Philippines