MANILA, Philippines — A Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) official on Wednesday verified the presence of a joint time deposit account valued at ₱40.65 million held under the names of Vice President Sara Duterte and her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Testifying on the 35th day of the Vice President’s impeachment trial, BPI Central Metro Manila Branches Division Head Marwin Galvez affirmed the account details after private prosecutor Atty. James Bryan Alih presented a time deposit certificate.
According to Galvez, the account was established on January 22, 2010, at BPI’s Julia Vargas branch with a starting principal of ₱40.65 million.
Galvez detailed that the deposit underwent 12 rollovers, accumulating interest over time until it reached a total of ₱41.7 million.
“Based on the last rollover, including interest rate, the final balance would be ₱41,721,035.42,” Galvez said, clarifying that some figures on the submitted document were somewhat obscured.
The witness further stated that upon reaching maturity, ₱41,721,035.62 was transferred on March 9, 2011, to a BPI Julia Vargas account ending in 9539. That same month, a manager’s check was bought for an equivalent amount; however, Galvez noted that credit and debit records from October 11 revealed the check was never cashed or utilized.
Prosecutor Alih noted that the team is working to demonstrate a recurring pattern, referencing a separate ₱55-million time deposit that was similarly converted into a manager’s check. Alih explained that routing funds through uncashed or “floating” manager’s checks can effectively conceal money from end-of-year account balance reporting.
During cross-examination, defense counsel Atty. Michael Poa minimized the Vice President’s involvement, emphasizing that no presented records indicated she had executed any withdrawals from the joint placement.
Senator Bam Aquino subsequently inquired if this mechanism served as an established strategy for storing funds, but Galvez declined to comment on the practice.