2026 ImpeachmentTracker tracks claims made in the impeachment trial and the evidence cited for them. Status labels describe the state of evidence in the proceeding — never guilt, innocence, or a predicted verdict. This is an independent, solo-developer civic project; corrections are welcome. Read our methodology & disclaimers.

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Impeachment Trial - Day 19

The Presiding Officer ruled that Rule 18 of the Rules on Impeachment bars the presiding officer, senators, prosecutors, the impeached official, their counsel, and witnesses from publicly commenting on the merits of the trial, and the court granted the prosecution supplemental bank subpoenas covering the respondent Vice President, her spouse, and 20 linked entities, with records due September 2, 2026. Testimony continued on the OVP confidential funds, where a witness confirmed COA notices of disallowance for 2022 and 2023 confidential funds and testified he had no personal knowledge of how the funds were disbursed. The court also postponed Colonel Boransing's appearance to September 1, and the prosecution formally dropped Major General Bajao as a witness.

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Session record

Claims introduced or updated

  • No new standing claim cards were added this session; existing cards were updated with the session's testimony and court actions.
  • The card for "The Article IV grave-threats charge" was updated with the Presiding Officer's ruling invoking Rule 18, directing covered persons not to publicly comment on the trial's merits, recorded as context.
  • The card for "COA witness: Joint Circular 2015-01 requires strict compliance for confidential funds" was updated with testimony that the OVP's August 2022 letter request to the DBM had no PFP attached, that the Joint Circular did not then require one, that the DBM did not flag the submissions as non-compliant and recommended approval to the Office of the President, and that the witness could not recall Section 3.24 of Joint Circular 2015-01.
  • The card for "The ₱612.5M confidential-funds charge" was updated with testimony that the OVP received a 2022 COA Notice of Disallowance and submitted replies, that the Q4 2022 and 2023 confidential funds were requested to safeguard implementation of OVP programs, and with senator-judges' citations of ₱73.3 million in December 2022 spending and ₱122 million distributed to informants as rewards from December 2022 to September 2023, which the witness confirmed based on information from security officers.
  • The card for "Prosecution: court powers override secrecy laws" was updated with the court's grant of the prosecution's supplemental bank subpoenas adopting its July 20, 2026 ruling and limitations, with the defense reserving the right to comment on and object to the bank records at the proper time.
  • The card for "Acosta witness background" was updated with testimony that the witness merely accompanied former OVP disbursing officer Gina Acosta to the bank, did not know the custody arrangement for the withdrawn ₱125 million or how funds were released to Col. Lachica, that Acosta likewise had no knowledge of confidential fund spending and liquidation, and that the Vice President as head of agency knows how the fund was spent.
  • The card for "COA's ₱375M disallowance" was updated with confirmation that COA issued a notice of disallowance dated March 31, 2026 covering the first to third quarters of 2023 confidential funds, that the OVP's petition for review was denied and is under motion for reconsideration, and with Senator-Judge Tulfo's statement that COA ruled confidential funds may pay rewards only as specific targeted payouts.
  • The card for "What COA's \"clean opinion\" does and doesn't cover" was updated with testimony that the OVP's Audit Observation Memoranda sought clarifications and contained no finding of misuse, that the Notice of Suspension likewise carried no misuse finding the witness could recall, and that neither were final COA-ICPAO findings because the OVP was given the opportunity to comment.

Evidence & exhibits

  • The court granted the prosecution supplemental subpoenas to other banks and financial institutions covering the respondent Vice President, her spouse Atty. Manasses Carpio, and 20 entities in which the spouses hold an interest, limited to peso-denominated accounts and excluding foreign currency deposits absent the depositor's written consent, with records due September 2, 2026.
  • Testimony was received on the OVP's August 2022 letter request to the DBM, which the witness said carried no PFP and was not rejected, commented on, or flagged as non-compliant.
  • Testimony was received on the OVP's replies to COA Audit Observation Memoranda for Q4 2022 and Q1-Q3 2023 and its response and supplemental response to the December 13, 2023 Notice of Suspension, which the witness said he drafted, signed, or co-signed.
  • Testimony was received on COA notices of disallowance covering 2022 confidential funds and the first to third quarters of 2023 confidential funds, the latter dated March 31, 2026, with the OVP's petition for review denied and a motion for reconsideration pending.
  • The prosecution moved for subpoenas ad testificandum to Atty. Michael Wesley T. Owa and Ms. Marisa B. Grande of the Philippine Statistics Authority for presentation on September 2, and the court granted a marking conference for additional exhibits, including PSA documents, at 4pm that afternoon.

Court rulings

  • The Presiding Officer ruled that Rule 18 of the Rules on Impeachment bars the presiding officer, senators, prosecutors, the impeached official, their counsel, and witnesses from publicly commenting on the merits of the pending trial, and directed all covered persons to refrain from making, sharing, endorsing, or amplifying such statements.
  • The Presiding Officer ruled that senator-judges may question witnesses, prosecutors, and counsel on the record under Rule 17 without such questioning being partial, and that the Rules of Court apply only suppletorily where the Rules on Impeachment expressly govern.
  • The Presiding Officer granted the prosecution's request for supplemental bank subpoenas, adopting the court's July 20, 2026 ruling and its limitations.
  • The Presiding Officer ruled that the court would allow the line of questioning on the notices of disallowance while noting the prosecution's continuing objection.
  • The Presiding Officer sustained the prosecution's objection on the ground that a question about informant identities was misleading, the witness having said the matter was confidential rather than sensitive.
  • The Presiding Officer granted the postponement of Colonel Boransing's appearance to September 1, stating that he is the commanding officer of Task Force Zamboanga and had asked to coordinate with superiors per AFP standard operating procedures.
  • The court stated that the subpoena for Major General Bajao could not be properly issued because the address given was not received by the AFP and he is retired; the prosecution then formally dropped his presentation as a witness.
  • The court granted the prosecution's motion for a marking conference of additional exhibits, including Philippine Statistics Authority documents, at 4pm that afternoon.
  • The Presiding Officer stated that language amounting to disrespect or offensive personalities in the presence of the court may be dealt with as direct contempt under the rules on impeachment with Rule 71 Section 1 applying suppletorily, cited CIPRA Canon 2 and Section 4 prohibiting abusive or offensive language including through social media, and reiterated the suggestion that each party appoint a spokesperson not on its legal team, with Rule 18 to be strictly applied to current spokespersons if retained.

Open questions

  • What will Colonel Boransing testify when he appears on September 1 following the court-granted postponement?
  • Will the bank records covered by the supplemental subpoenas be produced by the September 2 deadline, and how will the court take up the defense's reserved comments and objections to those records?
  • What will come of the OVP's pending motion for reconsideration of COA's denial of its petition for review of the 2023 confidential-funds disallowance?
  • Will the prosecution's requested subpoenas ad testificandum to the two Philippine Statistics Authority officials issue for their September 2 presentation, and what will their testimony cover?

Claims updated in this session