The House Committee on Justice has declared the two remaining impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte sufficient in substance, advancing the proceedings against the country’s second-highest official.
Committee chair Gerville Luistro presided over separate votes on the complaints.
The first was filed by Fr. Joel Saballa and endorsed by Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima, while the second was lodged by Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera and endorsed by Manila 6th District Representative Benny Abante and La Union 1st District Representative Paolo Ortega.
Both complaints yielded identical results: 54 lawmakers voted in favor, one voted against, and none abstained. The Saballa complaint was deliberated on Tuesday, while the Cabrera complaint was taken up on Wednesday.
Following the approval, San Juan City Lone District Representative Ysabel Zamora moved to formally notify Duterte and direct her to submit her answer within a non-extendable period of 10 days upon receipt of the notice.
Luistro explained the next steps:
“And that reply will be furnished to the respondent as well, in which case the respondent is given three calendar days to file her rejoinder,” she said.
The committee chair also confirmed that evidence submission is now open.
“We will be welcoming also the submission of evidence, that is because both complaints were declared sufficient in substance already. If there are affidavits and counter-affidavits, we should be notified by the complainants because they need to be sworn in before the Justice committee,” Luistro noted.
She clarified that once all documents and evidence are received, the panel will determine whether sufficient grounds exist to support the impeachment complaints.
“And if the decision of the committee is in the affirmative, that’s the only time that we will be proceeding to the hearing proper,” she said.
The committee’s findings do not yet constitute a ruling on the merits of the allegations but indicate that the complaints have met the threshold to move forward in the legislative process.