PROBABLE CAUSE FOUND: 53 LAWMAKERS BACK IMPEACH COMPLAINTS VS VP SARA IN UNANIMOUS VOTE

THE House Committee on Justice on Wednesday found probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Z. Duterte on two remaining complaints, with 53 lawmakers backing each in separate unanimous votes, sending the case to the plenary for the next stage of the process.

Voting separately on the third, or Saballa complaint, and the fourth, or Cabrera complaint, the panel unanimously approved both motions without objection after weeks of hearings that built a detailed evidentiary record on Duterte’s alleged fund misuse, unexplained wealth, and threats against top officials.

“The chair pronounces that the existence of probable cause has been declared with respect to both the Saballa complaint and the Cabrera complaint,” declared committee chair Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro.

The motion to determine probable cause was introduced by Pinoy Workers Party-list Rep. Franz Vincent Legazpi, who said the panel had already heard enough.

“Madam chair, I think we have heard enough explanations and discussions for the past few weeks. I think it’s time to now go on to the determination of whether there is probable cause in turn for each of the complaints,” Legaspi said.

After the motion was seconded and no objections were raised, Luistro called for a vote. The vote followed closing summations by the endorsers—Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila De Lima for the Saballa complaint, and Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. and Deputy Speaker Francisco Paolo Ortega V for the Cabrera complaint.

Immediately after the vote, De Lima moved to merge the complaints. “I most respectfully move that the two verified impeachment complaints be consolidated and reported to the House as a single, integrated set of articles of impeachment,” she said.

With no objections, Luistro approved the motion. “Hearing none, the motion is granted,” she said. She then directed the committee to prepare and transmit the report and articles of impeachment.

“We direct the committee to prepare the committee report along with the resolution and the articles of impeachment. We further direct the committee to transmit the same to the complainant, the respondent vice president, and the justice members.”

Luistro set the continuation of the hearing on May 4, 2026 at 10 a.m. before the proceedings were suspended until the same date.

Central to the complaints was the Vice President’s November 23, 2024 press conference, where she publicly stated that she had instructed a person to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez if she were killed.

The video of the press conference was authenticated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and submitted as evidence during Wednesday’s hearing.

NBI officials, led by Director Melvin Matibag, said their findings, already submitted to the Department of Justice, establish that Duterte’s acts constitute inciting to sedition and grave threats, and meet the prosecutorial standard of a prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction based on available evidence.

Matibag further testified that the bureau is pursuing a follow-up investigation into the Vice President’s statement that she had already spoken to an individual to carry out the killings.

He said the alleged hiring of an assassin is being treated as a serious and actual threat to the life of the President.

During previous hearings, lawmakers assembled what they described as a converging body of evidence on Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds.

A key resource person, Ramil Madriaga, alleged that P125 million of the total amount were disbursed within just 24 hours, contradicting earlier claims that the funds were spent over 11 days.

His testimony was reinforced by records adopted from the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, or the Blue Ribbon Committee, including accounts of an alleged “envelope system” and questionable receipts.

Forensic experts from the NBI presented handwriting analysis showing that different signatures appearing under various names were written by a single individual, pointing to possible falsification.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) also testified that some listed recipients do not exist in official civil registry records.

On the audit front, the Commission on Audit (COA) confirmed a Notice of Disallowance covering more than P73 million, with additional disallowances potentially raising total exposure to hundreds of millions of pesos.

The panel also cited what Luistro described as “forensic truth” in examining alleged unexplained wealth.

Data from the Office of the Ombudsman showed Duterte’s declared net worth rising to about P88 million in 2024, while records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council indicated more than P6.7 billion in covered and suspicious transactions linked to the Vice President and her spouse.

Lawmakers flagged the gap between declared assets and large financial flows, alongside inconsistencies in corporate records from the Securities and Exchange Commission and unresolved questions tied to income records submitted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Before the vote, the committee formally declared the complaints submitted for determination of probable cause after concluding clarificatory hearings and presentation of evidence.

At least two members sought an additional hearing to allow Duterte to respond, but the proposal was opposed by lawmakers who said due process had already been satisfied.

But Luistro emphasized that the panel had afforded the Vice President ample opportunity to participate. “So, ano pong hinihintay natin? Ang upuan ng ating Vice Presidente ay nananatiling bakante hanggang sa oras na ito,” she said.

“As a matter of fact, the pronouncements of their team, the defense team, is very clear that they have no intention of attending before the justice committee, notwithstanding their readiness to answer the allegations. She intends to answer not here, but before the Senate,” she added.

With the finding of probable cause, the committee is expected to elevate its report to the House plenary, where lawmakers will decide whether to approve the articles of impeachment and transmit them to the Senate for trial, marking the next phase in the constitutional process.