MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros questioned how Vice President Sara Duterte could have allegedly accumulated P817.87 million in undeclared assets when her estimated combined salaries as Davao City mayor and vice president from 2016 to 2025 amounted to only P26.81 million to P27.65 million.
During her interpellation on the 41st day of the impeachment trial on Tuesday, Hontiveros calculated Duterte’s estimated compensation from 2016 to 2025 using monthly salary figures provided by Davao City Accountant Vingelin Bajan and salary schedules for the vice presidency.
Hontiveros first asked Bajan about Duterte’s monthly salary as Davao City mayor from 2016, when Bajan was appointed city accountant, until 2022.
Although Bajan initially said she did not have the exact figures, she referred to her notes, which listed the following estimated monthly salaries: 2016, P96,000; 2017, P117,000; 2018, P143,000; 2019, P175,000; 2020, P181,000; 2021, P185,000; and 2022, P188,726.
Using these figures, Hontiveros estimated Duterte’s total salary as mayor from 2016 to 2022 at approximately P12,950,964.
The senator then turned to Duterte’s compensation as vice president from 2022 to 2025, citing salary schedules that placed the vice president’s monthly salary at approximately P330,000 to P350,000.
Based on this range, Hontiveros estimated that Duterte received between P13.86 million and P14.7 million in compensation during the period.
Combining the two estimates, Hontiveros said Duterte’s total compensation as Davao City mayor and vice president from 2016 to 2025 amounted to approximately P26.81 million to P27.65 million.
However, Hontiveros cited a forensic report indicating that Duterte allegedly had total undeclared assets amounting to P817,874,867.
She said that the alleged undeclared assets were substantially higher than Duterte’s estimated combined compensation from her government positions.
“An alleged total of P817 million in undeclared assets compared with just P26 million to P27 million in salaries alone.That’s roughly 40 times more,” Hontiveros said.
She said she found it difficult to understand how Duterte could have allegedly acquired such substantial wealth compared with her estimated earnings from public office.
“That is why, as I connect this with the earlier testimonies and hearings, I find it difficult to understand how such a large amount of wealth—allegedly P817 million—could have been accumulated compared with just over P20 million insalaries alone,” Hontiveros said.
The senator acknowledged that the comparison could also involve income earned by Duterte and her husband, rather than Duterte’s government salaries alone.
Hontiveros raised the figures for the record, linking her questions to previous testimonies and proceedings in the impeachment case.
