Batu identified herself as the Officer-in-Charge of the Central Records Division. She described that division as handling case records, including Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs).
← Timed transcript
Witness record
September 15, 2026
Witnesses called to the stand, with their most consequential testimony linked to the reviewed transcript and official Senate video.
Witnesses
Read and verify
Click a timestamp to cue the embedded source video. The adjacent turn ID opens the reviewed transcript in context.
Atty. Karen S. Batu
Officer-in-Charge, Central Records Division, Office of the Ombudsman; records custodian
She said the office prepared and submitted the SALN records to the House. The defense stated that the copies then being identified were redacted.
Batu described the Ombudsman as a repository agency. She said she could not infer from a missing acquisition-cost entry that declared net worth was undervalued, and later said her testimony was limited to what was written in the submitted SALNs.
During re-cross, Batu said the office does not review submitted SALNs. The chair later excused her after the examination and Senator-Judge interventions concluded.