The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte was held over two days, August 11 and 12, 2026. A hearing originally scheduled for the 10th was postponed due to heavy rain in Metro Manila.
This week’s hearings continued questioning of Commission on Audit examiner Zairene del Campo regarding a combined 612.5 million pesos in confidential funds used by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education.
At the 14th hearing day on the 11th, testimony pointed to the possibility that the procedure for transferring responsibility for disbursing cash advances from the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds to the then-security chief violated a joint government circular. For the prosecution, this testimony highlighted a significant issue with the disbursement procedures.
Meanwhile, at the 15th hearing day on the 12th, attention turned to unusual names recorded as recipients of the confidential funds. The auditor testified that an unusual name alone was not sufficient grounds to conclude that the person was fictitious — a point that gave the defense some room for rebuttal.
The prosecution and defense also clashed over how much information about the recipients and nature of the activities could remain undisclosed on the grounds that they involved confidential operations.
This week’s proceedings gave more concrete shape to the possibility of procedural violations in how the confidential funds were disbursed. However, no conclusive evidence has yet emerged showing that the recipients were fictitious individuals or that Vice President Duterte herself directly ordered any misuse of funds.
For that reason, this week’s developments can be characterized as a stage of building up audit testimony. Hearings on the first article of impeachment have not concluded, and further witness examination and review of evidence will be needed before a verdict of guilt or acquittal can be reached.
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