October 1, 2026

Atty. Cathy Florence M. Baldonado, Register of Deeds of Davao City, produced certified copies of Davao TCT No. 146-2024-010775, its sale deed, tax clearance and transfer-tax records, land and building tax declarations, electronic registration certificate and canceled predecessor title. She described the security features of certified copies. The court ordered copies furnished to both sides and later marking as Exhibit P-II-4-1 and series.

Baldonado described an active title for 379 square meters in Matina, Davao City, registered to Manases Carpio, married to Sara Duterte. Supporting records placed it in Huna Subdivision, Matina Crossing, Talomo. She read a P6 million sale consideration and clarified the deed date as July 2, 2024. She also read an August 27, 2024 mortgage annotation executed by Carpio and Duterte in favor of Philippine Savings Bank for P8 million.

On cross-examination Baldonado read newer tax declarations bearing the same title number: P1,864,680 land market value, P6,992,847.80 building market value and P82,046 land assessed value. She read a 2024 SALN spouse entry for Barangay 74-A with P10 million acquisition cost and P82,046 assessed value, but declined to confirm the proposed property match. On redirect she acknowledged the documented P6 million deed consideration and P10 million SALN acquisition cost. She said the registry did not hold SALNs and she lacked personal knowledge of their completeness.

Atty. Marco K. Pineda, Deputy Register of Deeds III designated Acting Register of Deeds of Island Garden City of Samal and concurrently Assisting Register of Deeds of Davao City, explained the registry's ministerial custody and registration functions. The defense stipulated to certified copies and to the Samal title's 751-square-meter area, Matanos location and wording naming Carpio, married to Duterte. It stipulated to the annotated P3,453,849 price; Pineda read March 15, 2018 as the deed date and said TCT No. 142-2019-013134 remained active. The court ordered later marking as Exhibit P-II-4-2 and series.

Pineda said the SALN entries shown on direct did not perfectly match the deed and limited his answers to reading the documents. On cross he read San Isidro, Kaputian District, in the deed and Matanos in the title issued March 28, 2019. He read a San Isidro spouse entry in the 2018 SALN and a Matanos entry in 2019, each recording 2013 acquisition and P4,041,000 cost. He declined to identify the property from a quick visual comparison.

Pineda read matching P346,960 assessed values in a tax declaration bearing the same title number and the 2024 SALN Matanos spouse entry. The chair qualified the comparison as matching document contents while property identity remained open. On redirect Pineda read 2013 and P4,041,000 in the SALN against March 15, 2018 and P3,453,849 in the deed. He explained that derivative titles inherit older cadastral descriptions; the current tax declaration placed the land in San Isidro, Kaputian District, and he referred to recent assessor mapping to locate it.

Baldonado said the registry copied the deed's description without assuming the spouses' property regime. She identified the vendor and Carpio as sale-deed signatories and said Duterte had not signed it. Both witnesses said their registry records did not trace the purchase funds; Pineda lacked personal knowledge of the marital property regime or SALN completeness. Asked about an installment-sale explanation, he lacked personal knowledge and explained that a contract to sell could be annotated while transfer depended on a deed of sale.

Rep. Gerville R. Luistro announced AMLC summaries of covered and suspicious transaction reports involving 15 juridical persons, Duterte and Carpio, inward remittances to Cale88 Foods Corporations from China and other countries, and insurance or investment transactions. Lead defense counsel Atty. Sheila C. Sison corrected her initial nonreceipt statement: her office received the summaries at 9:34 a.m., forwarded them at 11:28 a.m., and counsel saw them during lunch. She cited confidentiality markings and the need to review 23–24 boxes. The court deferred the AMLC witness's examination until Monday.

Sen. Raffy T. Tulfo asked whether and when former Sen. Sonny Trillanes would testify and whether his appearance had been allowed. Rep. Jonathan Keith T. Flores said the prosecution would announce its position after lunch. Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero explained that no subpoena had been issued: the earlier request depended on AMLC or bank evidence, while voluntary appearance remained available and a subpoena could be considered after the prosecution clarified its sequence. Tulfo proposed presenting Trillanes before the AMLC witness so that the AMLC could check the bank-account information Trillanes might supply. Escudero left that decision to the prosecution. Tulfo also criticized witnesses he considered unnecessary and urged the prosecution to choose witnesses and examining lawyers who would advance the inquiry; Flores said the panel would consider his advice. Later, Rep. Gerville R. Luistro announced that the prosecution would no longer present Trillanes, and Escudero confirmed that he was effectively dropped from its witness list.

Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero questioned how the two properties corresponded to the Vice President's SALNs. For Davao, he initially said he found no declaration, then qualified that observation as the absence of an exact match and allowed the defense to identify a corresponding entry on cross-examination. Atty. Cathy Florence M. Baldonado said her office's role was ministerial, this property had no attached map, and she could compare entries but could not determine whether it had been declared. She found no matching P6 million price and did not know whether the locations described the same land. Later, when he asked about assessor mapping, she initially could not confirm custody of the complete city map, then agreed the assessor handled mapping and the newer tax declaration came from that office. For Samal, he asked who certified the electronic copies; Atty. Marco K. Pineda explained that system-generated certified copies required no manually affixed signature. Asked to compare the 2019 SALN's Aundanao entries with the P3,453,849 deed, Pineda found no matching amount, limited himself to reading the documents, and confirmed the deed covered one parcel. During cross-examination, Escudero clarified that the defense was pointing to the spouse section rather than the Vice President's own property entries, and that IGACOS meant Island Garden City of Samal, which Pineda confirmed. He corrected Pineda's reading of an amount before Pineda gave P2,730,600, asked whether being in the same barangay meant it was the same property, and clarified the acquisition years. Pineda said he could not draw that conclusion from a quick visual check and identified 2013 in the SALN versus March 15, 2018 in the deed. Escudero also clarified that an agreement could bind the parties before registration, which Pineda accepted, and observed that the SALN required acquisition cost rather than market value, which defense counsel accepted. He noted that both sides' market-price explanations came from counsel. In his closing questions, Pineda agreed that titles supplied technical descriptions and barangay locations rather than the land's street address, that a surveyor helped match the description to the site, and that matching general SALN descriptions to titles was difficult. Escudero cited installment and deferred-installment entries in the 2015-2017 SALNs followed by a sale entry in 2018 and asked whether full payment explained the timing; Pineda said he had no personal knowledge. Pineda explained that contracts to sell could be annotated while title remained with the original owner, and a deed of sale supported transfer. Earlier, Escudero observed that Sorsogon had followed Samal's city-merger example and relied on a Supreme Court decision permitting merger and city creation in one law; he sought no response to that observation.

Sen. Vicente C. Sotto III asked Atty. Marco K. Pineda about his tenure in Samal and recalled that three municipalities were combined into the Island Garden City of Samal in 1998 after persuading their mayors and registry officials. Pineda said he had served there for four years, had not been there in 1998, and had not known that history. When Sotto asked who had brought about the city’s creation, Pineda credited him, and Sotto agreed. Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero recalled Sorsogon following a similar merger and relying on the Samal Supreme Court decision. Later, Sotto expressed strong reservations about postponing the afternoon proceedings, saying he had expected both parties to be ready since July and referring to the defense’s September 2 access to documents. He left the decision to the chair and his colleagues. Escudero noted his comments, then granted the defense time to prepare for AMLC testimony on Monday; the trial adjourned until October 5 at 10 a.m., with no Friday sitting.

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian asked Baldonado whether the Matina title showed Carpio owned the property by July 26, 2024, and how its broad 'Barrio Matina' description corresponded to the current address. Baldonado confirmed the registered name was Manases Carpio, married to Sara Duterte, and explained that registration binds third persons. She identified Huna Subdivision, Matina Crossing, Talomo, Davao City in the supporting tax declaration, tax clearance and electronic certificate authorizing registration. Asked how these described the same titled property, she explained that the original title location could not be altered without a court order and confirmed the supporting records agreed. In his Samal round, Gatchalian contrasted the title's Matanos location with San Isidro in the 2018 SALN and asked whether the barangays were different. Pineda said they were, then explained that derivative titles carry forward the mother title's older cadastral location; the current tax declaration placed the property in San Isidro, Kaputian District. Gatchalian also questioned the roughly P4 million SALN acquisition cost versus the P3.4 million 2018 deed price and asked whether prices had fallen at Kembali. Pineda said the figures appeared in the records, but described rising prices as public knowledge and personal opinion outside his mandate, adding that he had never visited Kembali. In response, Bacquel said acquisition cost remained constant while assessed and market values rose; the chair reiterated that the SALN required acquisition cost. Flores asserted resort prices rose, and the chair noted that both counsel's manifestations had not come from the witness.

Sen. Joel Villanueva asked whether 'married to' on Carpio's title established joint ownership and cited George v. Marcelo in distinguishing civil status from co-ownership. Baldonado said the registry copied the deed's description and did not assume the spouses' property regime. She confirmed Carpio was the registered owner and said the sale deed was signed by the vendor and Carpio, without Duterte's signature or a statement that she paid part of the price. Asked who actually paid and where the money came from, including whether a mortgage or other registered instrument traced the funds, Baldonado said the registry relied on the deed and could not supply that information. Villanueva proposed examining bank and company-bank records, seller records and loan disbursements to connect the purchase to Article 2. After Pineda's examination, he declined to repeat his questions and manifested that the court needed seller payment records, loan disbursement records if a loan was relied upon, and bank or AMLC records specifically linked to the acquisition; he also urged proceeding to the next witness. The chair acknowledged him and continued its own questions without directing production in response to that manifestation.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo asked Atty. Cathy Florence M. Baldonado whether a property could be sold before registration in the new buyer's name; she said that was possible. Asked about SALN reporting after a resale, she said the issue was outside her competence. She did not know the spouses' total property holdings and explained that the subpoena concerned the single property she had identified. In response to his questions about its size, subdivision and price, she gave 379 square meters, Huna Subdivision and the P6 million amount in her records; she did not characterize the subdivision as exclusive. During Atty. Marco K. Pineda's examination, Tulfo asked the defense to clarify its position; Atty. Lindon Miguel C. Bacquel said both properties were declared in the Vice President's SALNs. Asked whether registry records traced public funds or the Vice President's personal funds into the purchases, Pineda said the office had no paper trail on the source of funds. He also lacked personal knowledge of the spouses' marital property regime. Tulfo asked whether broad geographical or project descriptions could produce no match in an automated title lookup; Pineda said that would be the outcome if his recollection was correct. When Tulfo proposed that the standard SALN format did not require exact lot, block or detailed barangay addresses, Pineda expressed reservations about answering beyond his office's mandate and acknowledged he was unsure.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano shared the concern about repeated postponements but supported giving defense until Monday to prepare, noting that the AMLC summaries had arrived only that morning. He described the respondent's finances as a central trial issue and argued that speed must be balanced with fairness, including time for defense to examine the records, comment on the testimonial offer, raise objections and question the witness, and for senator-judges to consider the issues raised. He also mentioned questions about AMLC's handling of confidential information. Cayetano urged reciprocal preparation time for prosecution when defense later presented documents, conditioned on defense avoiding repeated postponement requests whenever it encountered new material. The chair subsequently granted defense preparation time for the AMLC examination on Monday and gave senator-judges time to study the statutory provisions before settling the matter.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros manifested that AMLC confidentiality prohibited indiscriminate or voluntary leaks, rather than compliance with a proper court's subpoena or lawful disclosure to law enforcement agencies. She argued that an absolute prohibition would prevent AMLC from performing its statutory work and would not bind an impeachment court's hands. Hontiveros observed that the AMLC official appeared willing to testify and placed her interpretation on record for both the present proceedings and future impeachment trials in which either side might call AMLC personnel. The chair subsequently allowed senator-judges time to examine the statutory provisions and raise questions for settlement on Monday, while granting defense preparation time until then.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the AMLC issue had been resolved through oral arguments in July and saw no reason to repeat that debate, but supported a one-trial-day delay until Monday so both panels could prepare. Rep. Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno clarified that the postponement request came from the defense, and Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero confirmed the correction. The chair then granted the defense preparation time for the AMLC witness on Monday.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson asked his fellow senator-judges to include Section 2 of Republic Act 1405 in their weekend research. He said it provides an exception for impeachment cases and that the Supreme Court recognizes that statutory exception. His manifestation received no direct response before adjournment.

Rep. Jonathan Keith T. Flores offered the land records under Article 2 to support allegations of undeclared properties, unexplained wealth, false SALNs and continued business interests. Responding to the defense notice objection, he relied on paragraph B's allegation of failure to disclose all properties and argued that an omitted property could not have been identified earlier.

Flores defended SALN comparison by amount, acquisition date and location as a documentary check. For Davao he emphasized the P6 million deed consideration against the proposed entry's P10 million acquisition cost. For Samal he emphasized 2013 against 2018 and P4,041,000 against P3,453,849, and disputed that matching assessed values identified a declared property.

Flores opposed use of the newer tax declarations because they were outside the witnesses' submitted records and lacked identification or authentication by an appropriate witness. He proposed assessor testimony. On redirect Baldonado could not answer his question about neighboring properties sharing assessed values and said she did not know whether purchasers understated prices to avoid taxes. His question about perjury penalties during Pineda's redirect was stopped after defense objections.

Rep. Jose Manuel “Chel” I. Diokno opposed delaying AMLC testimony, saying the underlying documents had been furnished September 2. He invoked the July 20 subpoena ruling, distinguished unauthorized disclosure from lawful subpoena compliance and argued that only a senator-judge could seek reconsideration. He urged direct examination with objections addressed as they arose; Sison maintained her confidentiality argument, and Diokno questioned why the court had issued a subpoena if confidentiality were absolute.

Luistro withdrew former Sen. Sonny Trillanes from the witness list. By adjournment Diokno specified the sequence as AMLC, banks and insurance companies, then BIR, and agreed to furnish advance tables or summaries when able.

Atty. Michael Wesley Poa requested witness order for fair notice and preparation, confirming receipt of subpoena requests at 8:40 p.m. the previous night. Atty. Lindon Miguel C. Bacquel objected that the impeachment articles specified no undisclosed real property, invoked the penal character of impeachment and the right to notice, and maintained continuing relevance objections to both witnesses.

Bacquel raised competence, foundation, original-document and opinion objections to SALN questioning. For Davao he argued that Matina Crossing was Barangay 74-A, sought judicial notice and used newer tax declarations with the same title number and P82,046 assessed value to link the property to the SALN spouse entry. On recross he elicited roughly P8.8 million combined land and building market values and additional fees.

For Samal Bacquel relied on San Isidro and Matanos descriptions and the matching P346,960 assessed value. He explored contracts to sell before full payment, later title transfer and transfer taxes in addition to price. He said acquisition cost remained constant while assessed and market values rose, and expressly maintained that both properties were declared in Duterte's SALNs. He undertook to obtain the Davao assessor tax map and offered barangay Facebook material for the judicial-notice request.

Sison argued that the AMLC summaries and annexes were strictly confidential and their cover letter disclaimed waiver. She sought time to compare them against 23–24 boxes to prepare objections, comments on the testimonial offer and examination. She argued that the July 20 ruling concerned subpoena issuance with later objections reserved, and that its cited Republic v. Sandiganbayan authority preceded RA 11521. Rebutting Diokno's reading of July 20, she maintained that confidentiality applied to the AMLC Secretariat's Executive Director. Diokno subsequently clarified, and the chair confirmed, that the preparation request came from defense.

Sison requested advance copies of summaries and documents for later bank, insurance and BIR witnesses. At adjournment she asked whether the prosecution would adhere to its earlier order; Diokno clarified the revised sequence.

Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero allowed the land-registration testimony over the defense relevance and notice objections, saying the prosecution need not attach all its evidence to the complaint and noting continuing objections. He directed circulation and later exhibit marking of the witnesses' records.

The chair allowed confrontation with newer tax declarations on cross-examination, subject to witness knowledge, and limited Baldonado's answers to document contents rather than their accuracy or truth. The prior ruling was applied to the Samal comparison with the prosecution's continuing objection noted.

The chair requested assessor mapping and supporting material before deciding the defense request for judicial notice concerning Matina Crossing and Barangay 74-A. Bacquel undertook to obtain the map.

The chair granted subpoenas for BIR and the named banks and insurance companies and directed advance provision of witness summaries. He later directed amended subpoenas and a revised witness calendar or advisory, requesting tables and summaries at least a day in advance where the prosecution could provide them.

The chair treated Sison's sidebar as a request for preparation rather than reconsideration. He circulated Sections 9C and 14D of RA 9160 as amended by RA 11521, specifically Section 8A, for senator-judge consideration, with questions to be settled in caucus or open session Monday. He granted defense preparation time for the AMLC examination on Monday and adjourned until October 5 at 10 a.m., with no Friday trial.

Senate President Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian called the trial to order and declared a quorum of 13. Presiding Officer Sen. Francis "Chiz" G. Escudero dispensed with reading the September 29 journal and treated it as approved absent objection.

The prosecution began with Baldonado and Pineda. Their direct examinations were heard before lunch; defense cross-examination was deferred to permit preparation. Luistro announced the AMLC summaries and withdrew Trillanes from the witness list.

After lunch each land-registration witness underwent cross-examination, redirect, recross and senator questions, then was excused. A defense-requested sidebar before the planned AMLC examination led to a recess and discussion of the statutory provisions.

Following the parties' arguments and senator manifestations, the chair granted defense preparation time. Diokno clarified the final witness sequence as AMLC, banks and insurance companies, then BIR; trial adjourned until Monday, October 5 at 10 a.m.

The correspondence of the two titled properties with the claimed SALN entries remained contested. Davao assessor mapping was sought for the Matina comparison; Samal comparisons retained differing acquisition years and costs alongside matching assessed values.

AMLC examination remained the next stage. Senator-judges were to consider the circulated confidentiality provisions and raise any questions for settlement on Monday. The revised sequence placed banks and insurance companies after AMLC and BIR after them, with a calendar or advisory and party confirmation to follow.