Sara Duterte's foreign currency deposits excluded from impeachment court subpoena

MANILA, Philippines – The impeachment court on Monday ruled against the inclusion of foreign-currency deposits of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, 19 businesses and their partnership with Carpio and lawyers. Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero ruled on the matter citing that the foreign deposits must be kept confidential until the depositor consents otherwise. “Insofar as the request covers foreign-currency deposits of the respondent, her spouse, separately or jointly, as well as the corporations, it is denied. Such accounts shall be excluded unless and until the written consent of the respective depositors is produced,” Escudero declared. READ: Impeachment court grants subpoena for Duterte’s financial records Escudero also explained the law protecting the confidentiality of foreign-currency deposits. “The Court must draw a firm legal line regarding foreign-currency deposits. Foreign-currency deposits are governed by Republic Act No. 6426, Section 8 of which recognizes only one exception to confidentiality: the written permission of the depositor,” he stated. Despite the limitation, the impeachment court ordered the production of peso-denominated bank records sought by the House prosecution, which argued that the documents are material to its case alleging Duterte amassed unexplained wealth. /dp