The impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio moves forward in the House of Representatives after the Judiciary committee on Wednesday unanimously affirmed the cause of two impeachment petitions.
In separate votes, the 53 members of the committee unanimously agreed to find cause in the two complaints, accusing Ms. Duterte of misuse of public funds, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and conspiracy to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., First Lady Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romu.
“The existence of probable cause has been declared regarding Saballa’s complaint and Cabrera’s complaint,” said Batangas lawyer Gerville R. Luistro, who chaired the committee after the vote. The committee will consolidate the complaints into a single Articles of Impeachment, and will meet again on May 4, the same day the congressional session resumes.
In a statement, the defense team of Ms.
“We respectfully believe that the proceedings before the committee have deviated from the constitution. Instead of committing to verified complaints and their attachment, the process has expanded to matters worthy of a full trial,” the defense team told reporters via Viber.
Mrs. Duterte is facing a number of allegations fueling the impeachment campaign, including allegations that she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in funds earmarked for surveillance and intelligence under the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education while she was its secretary.
The documents include allegations that he amassed wealth disproportionate to his salary, attempts to discredit the government and plotting to kill Mr. Marcos, his wife and his cousin.
Once the trial moves to the floor of the House, one-third of lawmakers must vote to approve the petitions and send them to the Senate for trial — where Ms. Duterte risks permanent impeachment — or dismiss the charges. Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III last week said the Senate will act “with dispatch” if the Articles of Impeachment reach the chamber.
CONFIRMED, NOT EDITED
On Wednesday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it verified and confirmed the videos of Ms. Duterte, threatening the President, were authentic and not edited or created by artificial intelligence.
The agency’s investigation also confirmed Ms. Duterte’s actions in the November 23, 2024 video included serious threats and incitement to rebellion, said Yentl D. Malicad, NBI legal chief.
The NBI also said that their investigation is still ongoing, and they believe that the killer may have committed suicide.
“Our investigation is ongoing… we believe he spoke to someone and an assassin was assigned, based on the conversation,” said Jeremy C. Lotoc, head of the NBI’s Anti-Cybercrime Division, said Jeremy C. Lotoc.
The committee also showed a video of Mrs. Duterte where she said she called herself a “designated survivor” when she skipped the President’s State of the Union address (SONA), which is also being investigated by the NBI, according to Director Melvin A. Matibag.
Manila lawyer Joel R. Chua asked what Ms. Duterte said, and said, “Did she know that something bad was going to happen at that time, or did our Vice President know, that’s why she didn’t want to go to SONA?” He emphasized that these are questions that should not be ignored.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION
In the same hearing, the panel decided to keep the box containing the tax documents of Mrs. Duterte and her husband, Manases, sealed as it proceeds with caution in handling the complaints against him.
With 38 votes against and only six in favor of opening the box, sent by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the panel chose to leave the opening of the “green box” to the Senate, which will remain as a trial court.
Those in favor of opening the casket say it falls under the committee’s authority to examine tax records as part of the chamber’s constitutional mandate.
“The Constitution is supreme; principles are subordinate,” party-list Representative Leila M. de Lima told the panel.
“Where the Constitution commands, all else must be left. We have been called as a committee of the House of Judiciary, not to act in our ordinary legislative manner but to exercise one of the most important powers given to this business – the impeachment power.”
He added that refusing to open and inspect the income tax forms in question on the basis of statutory confidentiality under the Philippine tax code is “a misunderstanding of the constitutional mandate.”
Although he believes that it is within the committee’s power to open the box, the party’s Representative Jose Manuel I. Diokno doubts whether there will be a need, saying that the committee has enough evidence to clarify the cause.
“If we talk about something that can happen, for me the evidence is there. That is enough to make a determination and open the box,” he told the panel in mixed English and Filipino.
“We have a saying ‘ex abudante cautela,’ out of caution, and out of caution, I believe it would be wiser for us to leave it to the Senate to decide.”
The House in February 2025 impeached Ms. Duterte after one-third of lawmakers voted to impeach the impeachment, allowing the chamber to send it directly to the Senate. Later, it was retained in the Senate after the High Court ruled that the system used by the House was against the constitution. – Pexcel John Bacon with Charmaine A. Tadalan
