Duterte flagged for receiving compensation from Davao while she’s VP

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte was handed a letter of authority (LOA) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue after she was flagged for receiving compensation from the Davao City government despite already occupying the country’s second-highest elective office.

At Duterte’s impeachment trial on Thursday, lawyer Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez, chief-of-staff of BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza, was quizzed by counsel for the prosecution, Erwin Matib, regarding a Form 2316 under the vice president’s name in 2023—which pertains to a certificate of compensation.

When asked what the form contained, Garcia-Marquez confirmed that it was signed by employees of the city government of Davao, with Duterte being referred to as the employee.

“Ano ang ibig sabihin na merong 2316 form na ’yan na pinirmahan ni VP Sara?” Matib asked.

(What does the existence of a 2316 form that VP Sara signed indicate?)

READ: Prosec: VP Duterte, Carpio after-tax income almost as high as net worth

“Ang ibig sabihin po ay naka-receive po si VP Sara Duterte ng compensation income from the city government of Davao ng taxable year, or ng taong 2023 po,” Garcia-Marquez replied.

(This means that VP Sara Duterte received compensation income from the city government of Davao in the taxable year, or for the year 2023.)

“Okay, so ibig sabihin si VP Sara mismo ang nag-confirm by signing that na tumanggap siya ng sweldo mula sa Davao City noong 2023,” Matib said, which Garcia-Marquez confirmed.

(Okay, so this means VP Sara herself confirms by signing that, that she received salaries from Davao City in 2023.)

Matib then asked the witness if she would know whether the vice president can receive other fees aside from her official salary. But before Garcia-Marquez could answer, counsel for the respondent Kristine Ferrer objected, saying that the witness was not competent to answer the question.

What Matib did after this was to ask Garcia-Marquez to read provisions of the 1987 Constitution, particularly Sections 6 and 13 of Article VII which deals with the executive branch of government.

Ferrer objected again, but Senate Impeachment Court Presiding Officer Francis Escudero asked Garcia-Marquez to read out loud Section 13, which states that a vice president and other certain officials cannot “practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the government.”

Later on, Matib again asked Garcia-Marquez about Section 6, which states that the salaries of a vice president cannot be increased or decreased during his or her term, and that they “shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the government or any other source.”

Matib then quizzed the BIR official if funds acquired illegally are still taxable, leading Escudero to ask whether she can determine if an income is legal or illegal.

After Garcia-Marquez replied that it can be determined when revenue officers are “examining the books and all the documents,” clarifying that they can only conduct audits if a letter of authority is issued.

Letter of authority

This led to Garcia-Marquez confirming that they issued a letter of authority to Duterte.

“In this case, did you issue a letter of authority against either the vice president or her spouse?” Escudero asked.

“Yes, your Honor […] But your Honor, if I may po, we can only state whether or not may na-issue na LOA,” Garcia-Marquez said. “But the details po, confidential po ito so I cannot disclose it in this court.”

Garcia-Marquez took the witness stand earlier as the prosecution presented further evidence for Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, or the allegation that Duterte has unexplained wealth and that she did not declare it in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

At one point, Garcia-Marquez confirmed that the income after taxes of Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio, from 2007 to 2025 was P85,343,803.23.

Matib eventually pointed out that the couple’s income after taxes is almost as big as the Vice President’s declared net worth for 2025, which is P98,656,131.20.

After this statement from Matib, Ferrer objected, as the SALN has not been testified. Escudero then pointed out that Duterte’s SALN has been testified on, but by a different witness.

However, Escudero agreed that the witness is not competent to testify about Duterte’s SALN, urging Matib to avoid testifying on behalf of the witness. /cb