The Senate Impeachment Court issued subpoenas duces tecum et ad testificandum to senior executives from seven major commercial banks and seven insurance and financial firms, compelling them to submit financial records and testify in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Presiding Officer Senator Francis Escudero approved the request from the House prosecution panel as part of the evidentiary presentation for Article II of the impeachment complaint, which accuses the Vice President of amassing wealth disproportionate to her lawful income.
The seven banking institutions summoned by the tribunal include Land Bank of the Philippines, Asia United Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Philippine National Bank (PNB), and BDO Unibank.
The court also subpoenaed representatives from seven insurance and wealth management entities: Prudential Life, Allianz, Manufacturers Life (Manulife), FWD Life, BPI-AIA Life, BDO Securities, and BDO Life. In addition to the private financial institutions, the court granted a subpoena for representative records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Lead House prosecutor and Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro formally requested the court directives following the prosecution’s strategic adjustment to drop former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV from their witness list.
”To continue, for Monday, Oct. 5, we will be presenting the BIR, and for Tuesday, Oct. 6, we will be presenting the representatives of banks and insurance companies,” Luistro said during Thursday’s trial session.
Luistro also said: ”And it is in this light, Your Honor, that we respectfully reiterate our request for a subpoena to the BIR, as well as representatives of banks and insurance companies.”
Witnesses from the financial institutions are scheduled to appear sequentially starting Tuesday, October 6, to testify on accounts, policies, and investment instruments associated with the Vice President and her declared assets.