Davao City accountant says VP Sara Duterte got P64,194 in back pay from city in 2023

The Davao City accountant told the Senate impeachment court on Tuesday, 10 November, that Vice President Sara Duterte received P64,194.72 in salary differentials from the city government in 2023, after she had already assumed the vice presidency, according to the Daily Tribune.

Vingelin Bajan, called as a defense witness, said the amount represented delayed salary differentials owed to Duterte for 2020 and 2021, her last two years as city mayor. The sum was reportedly split into P31,718.64 for 2020 and P32,476.08 for 2021. Bajan said the adjustments stemmed from the 2019 Salary Standardization Law, which she said covered "all government employees," and that other city employees also received differentials, though some did not because of incomplete documents.

The prosecution alleges that Duterte received double compensation in violation of Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution, which bars the President and Vice President from receiving additional emoluments from the government while in office. A Bureau of Internal Revenue official earlier testified that Duterte received compensation from the Davao City government in 2023 but did not disclose the amount, citing confidentiality.

Private prosecutor Mae Divinagracia noted that the city implemented the adjustments one to two years after the law took effect, processed the disbursement voucher only on 30 December 2022 and released it in January 2023, when Duterte was already vice president and her brother, Sebastian Duterte, was mayor. She also questioned handwritten corrections on the voucher, including a cancelled entry for January 2022 replaced with the 2020 and 2021 periods.

Bajan said the corrections were made during the voucher's evaluation and were countersigned by the city assistant accountant. She said payment was released only once supporting documents were complete, attributing the delay to the City Mayor's Office.

Senator-judge Raffy Tulfo called the explanation "very difficult to believe," pointing out that Duterte was still mayor at the time, and said the erasures could have been made after the impeachment case began.

Divinagracia also questioned Bajan's credibility. Under questioning, and after a warning of possible contempt, Bajan admitted she was formerly a partner at the accounting firm that audited firms linked to Duterte, including GenCorp Industries Inc., Metro City Chow Foods Corp. and Great Jolly Times Food Corp. She left the firm, now Elises & Ciudadano, in 2015 and was appointed city accountant in 2016 during Duterte's mayoral term. She joined the city government in 2001 as a job order employee and became permanent in 2004.