An P82,000 payment issued by the Davao City government to Vice President Sara Z. Duterte in 2023 constitutes an unlawful public expenditure under constitutional restrictions, according to the House prosecution panel.
House trial spokesperson and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong raised the issue during a post-trial press briefing following Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) testimony confirming Duterte received compensation from her former local government post while concurrently serving as Vice President.
“On the part of the City of Davao, this is already technically unlawful expenses on the part of the city government,” Adiong stated, urging local officials to address the transaction. “The recipient is not supposed to receive any compensation, financial compensation or emolument whatsoever.”
Prosecution legal spokesperson Atty. Benjamin Tolosa Jr. clarified that official tax filings attached to Duterte’s 2023 annual Income Tax Return (ITR) specified an exact payout of P82,000 from the local government unit.
“Someone commented nga P82,000 pinatulan pa,” Tolosa noted. “No, it’s P82,000… Whatever you look at it in every angle, bawal po yan. Bawal talaga.”
Tolosa cited Article VII, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution, which explicitly prohibits the President and Vice President from receiving secondary emoluments from government or private sources during their tenure, as well as Section 13, which bars them from holding dual employment or practicing a profession while in office.