By Ade S. Fajardo
Reception of evidence on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte will commence tomorrow.
It is all systems go for House of Representatives Committee on Justice chair and Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro, after her panel declared the two petitions lodged against Duterte “sufficient in grounds.”
There will be three more hearing dates in April.
Luistro’s committee has been authorized to continue the conduct of impeachment proceedings during the recess of the House of Representatives from March 21, 2026 to May 3, 2026.
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Luistro herself described what will happen next as a “mini-trial.”
The complainants get to present oral and documentary proof that the vice president committed impeachable offenses under the Constitution.
The VP has so far submitted a “non-answer,” choosing to concentrate on jurisdiction and due process issues.
She did not offer evidence to counter each of the material allegations against her.
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The proceedings at this stage is akin to a preliminary investigation before the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors try to determine whether they have enough evidence on hand for a “probable cause” finding.
Members of the Committee on Justice will likely make up the panel that will act as prosecutors should the case against the VP reach the Senate for a full-blown trial.
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Consequently, the committee proceedings at this stage will not be the adversarial trial-type proceedings that we normally see in a regular court.
Most of the questions to the witnesses will expectedly be allowed for as long as they are material and relevant.
Since impeachment is essentially a political exercise, we should expect a lot more questions from congressmen than what lawyers are used to in a regular preliminary investigation.
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Among the highly anticipated factual issues for resolution is the matter of alleged ill-gotten wealth on the part of the VP.
Bicol Saro Party-list Congressman Terry Ridon has said that lawmakers may seek subpoenas for the vice president’s income tax returns and business records.
There is an alleged P50-million “wealth gap” between the VP’s estimated cumulative government service salary and declared net worth.
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The amount of the gap may not be astoundingly high in the context of politicians amassing wealth way beyond their means.
Nonetheless, the allegation of a gap, no matter how small it may appear vis-à-vis the billions of pesos reportedly stolen from flood control projects, for example, is sufficient predicate for members of the committee to subpoena the VP’s bank records and those of her husband.
Impeachment proceedings are a well-known exception to the Bank Secrecy Act.
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Impeachable officials are vulnerable to more heightened scrutiny as an exception to the strict provisions of the law shielding the privacy of bank transactions.
Erap Estrada, Renato Corona and Jejomar Binay are known casualties of hidden riches laid bare to the public.
The VP has her defense cut out for her with an alleged former bagman coming out of the shadows to reveal cash deliveries in the millions of pesos./WDJ