DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 March)– The Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives is urging Vice President Sara Duterte not to boycott and attend the next scheduled impeachment proceedings so she can answer the allegations against her.
Duterte had skipped the initial hearing on Wednesday, 25 March, and instead issued a statement calling the proceedings another round of ‘fishing expedition’ and insisted there is no rule requiring the respondent in an impeachment complaint to attend the hearings of the House Committee on Justice.
In a press conference after the first hearing, Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville R. Luistro, who chairs the Committee on Justice, said Duterte is welcome to attend the next scheduled hearings on April 14, 22, and 29, despite her absence in the first proceeding.
“As a matter of fact, this is what the people have long been waiting for – the answers to allegations involving (misuse of) confidential funds, threats, and unexplained wealth. The public has been waiting since 2024, and we in the justice committee are truly hoping that the Vice President will participate and take this opportunity to respond to all the allegations against her,” Luistro said.
Duterte had said that instead of attending, she would rather devote her time to helping the people in need.
“The invitation to attend the Committee on Justice hearing appears to be used to create a media narrative of a ‘mini-trial,’ based on my alleged failure to respond and to appear,” Duterte said.
Members of the Committee on Justice convened on March 24 to initially hear the impeachment complaints filed by Reverend Father Saballa, et. al., and Atty. Nathaniel G. Cabrera.
Both complaints had earlier been ruled sufficient in form, substance, and grounds.
During the hearing, the committee acted on several motions for the issuance of subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum, which form part of the body’s evidence-gathering process on the two impeachment complaints to aid the committee members in determining probable cause in Duterte’s impeachment complaints.
Among the agencies and individuals subpoenaed to provide records and testimonies were:
National Bureau of Investigation to obtain records of its investigation on Duterte’s alleged threats to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez made during a November 2024 press conference;
The Office of the Ombudsman for Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN); the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for income tax returns and related records of Duterte, her spouse, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, and identified business entities covering tax records from 2007 to 2025; and the Securities and Exchange Commission for general information sheets and audited financial statements of several firms linked to Duterte and her family, to verify ownership and financial activity.
The House Committee on Justice also issued subpoenas for: Atty. Gloria Camora, audit team leader of the Commission on Audit, to testify and produce liquidation reports, disbursement vouchers, certifications, and related submissions of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd); Ramil Madriaga, Duterte’s alleged “bagman,” to authenticate his affidavit dated November 29, 2025 and present supporting evidence on the receipt, handling, and distribution of confidential funds; Atty. Michael Poa, a member of Duterte’s legal team, who served as chief of staff and DepEd spokesperson during Duterte’s time as its secretary, during which the agency received P112.5 million in confidential funds in 2022 and 2023; and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to provide and authenticate civil registry documents, including birth, marriage and death records for individuals listed in OVP and DepEd submissions.
Luistro said the ongoing hearings are akin to a preliminary investigation, intended to determine probable cause, not to determine Duterte’s “guilt or innocence.”
“There will be a clarificatory hearing as distinguished from a trial that is for the purpose of determining the existence or non-existence of probable cause. If you try to imagine, without a clarificatory hearing, how are we going to decide on the existence of probable cause?” she added.
Citing the recent Supreme Court’s decision Sara Z. Duterte vs House of Representatives, the lawmaker said the Court reminded the Lower Chamber to “go over the evidence, to weigh the same, and to make sure that even the House Members or Justice members understand and know the evidence that supports the allegations of offenses and allegations of grounds.”
Under Article XI, Section 3(3) of the Constitution, a vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House will be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee on Justice, or override its contrary resolution.
Once the Articles of Impeachment are filed, the Senate will then convene as an impeachment court and place Duterte on trial. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
