DAVAO City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV are among the prosecution witnesses expected to testify in the next phase of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, Senate impeachment court spokesman Reginald Tongol said.
Baste, the vice president’s younger brother, has been summoned to appear before the impeachment court from Sept. 28 to 30, following Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System Division chief Rendell Sopeña.
He was ordered to bring Davao City government records involving GenCorp Industries Inc. and corporations operating Jollibee branches from 2020 to the present.
GenCorp was among the companies Duterte declared as a business interest in her 2024 and 2025 statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs).
The Davao City government has acknowledged 19 contracts with GenCorp worth P33.2 million. Baste has said neither his sister’s name nor the Duterte surname appears in the relevant city government contracts.The House prosecution panel said it was still awaiting confirmation of Baste’s appearance, although his subpoena remains in effect.
Prosecutors have also said they may ask the court to declare him a hostile witness.
Tongol said prosecutors have also requested subpoenas for Trillanes, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, a representative from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office, and two Registry of Deeds officials from Davao City and Samal.
Trillanes was a resource person during the House’s April 22 impeachment hearing, where he presented bank transactions allegedly involving the Duterte family. He has alleged that Sara Duterte and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, had undisclosed bank accounts.
The AMLC, through Buenaventura, later confirmed that some of the transactions cited by Trillanes matched fund movements monitored or flagged by the agency.
The witnesses are expected to testify on Article II of the Articles of Impeachment, which covers allegations of unexplained wealth and issues involving Duterte’s SALNs and business interests.
Tongol said the defense has objected to the prosecution’s request to admit under oath decades’ worth of bank, tax and business records.
“The respondent argued that an impeachment trial is penal in nature, and they are invoking the constitutional right against self-incrimination along with marital and filial privileges,” Tongol said.
The court will review the defense submission and issue a ruling.
