MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Justice on Monday, May 4, unanimously approved its committee report and the resolution setting forth the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, officially transmitting the case to the plenary for consideration.
The panel voted 55–0, with zero abstentions, to find probable cause to impeach the Vice President. Committee chair and Batangas Representative Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” R. Luistro formally announced the results following weeks of comprehensive hearings.
“Let it be placed on the record that 55, out of 55 Justice members physically present, manifested their support to the approval of the Committee Report, to the attached resolution setting forth the Articles of Impeachment, as amended. The Chair therefore declares the motion unanimously approved,” Luistro stated.
The unanimous decision completed the committee’s constitutional mandate on the consolidated Saballa and Cabrera impeachment complaints. Deputy Speaker David “Jay-jay” Suarez initiated the final step after the panel resolved all proposed amendments.
“Insofar as we have acted on all the proposed amendments of our colleagues, I move for the approval of the Committee Report, the attached resolution setting forth the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President, Sara Z. Duterte, as amended,” Suarez said.
Following the motion, which was duly seconded without objection, the adopted report consolidated the findings of eight hearing dates. During these sessions, lawmakers scrutinized testimonial, documentary, and digital evidence from 22 witnesses and various government agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation, Commission on Audit, Anti-Money Laundering Council, and Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The committee concluded that the evidence meets the constitutional threshold, finding probable cause to charge Duterte with culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes.
The core of the findings centers on allegations that Duterte misused P612.5 million in confidential funds during her concurrent tenure at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
The report cited irregular disbursements, questionable liquidation reports, and unverifiable recipients. It also highlighted alleged unexplained wealth, noting a sharp increase in her declared net worth and citing Anti-Money Laundering Council data that flagged billions of pesos in transactions linked to her and her spouse.
Furthermore, the Articles of Impeachment allege bribery involving DepEd officials through the distribution of cash envelopes to influence procurement decisions.
Another critical ground cited in the report involves Duterte’s public statements, which the committee interpreted as threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, contributing to alleged political destabilization.
With the committee level concluded, the report and the Articles of Impeachment will now proceed to the House plenary. A roll call vote will determine if the charges secure the required one-third affirmative vote from all House members to forward the case to the Senate, which will then convene as an impeachment court to try the case.|
