The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte maintained on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, that the property declared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) is the exact same property presented by the defense, rejecting the prosecution’s claim that the assets involved are different.
Lead Defense Counsel Atty. Sheila Sison argued before the Senate impeachment court that if the prosecution truly believed there was a separate or undeclared property, it could have easily presented additional documentary evidence to support its allegation.
According to Sison, such evidence could have included a separate tax declaration, deed of absolute sale, registration records, or other official documents proving the existence of another property allegedly omitted from the Vice President’s SALN.
The defense lawyer emphasized that the prosecution had already completed the presentation and formal offering of its evidence, and that the impeachment court had already issued a ruling on the matter on November 5.
Sison described the prosecution’s argument as an exercise in “hair-splitting,” contending that it merely magnified a minor issue despite what she said was clear evidence that the properties identified by the defense witnesses correspond to the same asset formally declared by Duterte.
She further argued that anyone closely following the proceedings understands that only one property is being discussed throughout the case.
The defense maintained that if the prosecution was certain another property existed and had not been declared, it should have submitted the relevant supporting documents before closing its formal offer of evidence.
The dispute centers on allegations raised by the prosecution regarding the accuracy and completeness of the Vice President’s SALN declarations, including a property located in Samal, Davao del Norte that has become a key issue in the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
The defense’s latest arguments came as the Senate impeachment court continued hearing witness testimony and legal arguments related to accusations that Vice President Duterte failed to properly declare certain assets in her SALN.