DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /10 May 2026) – If Vice President Sara Duterte is impeached by the House of Representatives on Monday, May 11, she should appear before the Senate to defend herself, the chair of the House Committee on Justice said.
Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville R. Luistro, chair of the Committee on Justice told the “Saturday News Forum,” streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the House of Representatives, that proceedings in the Upper House would be Duterte’s final opportunity to counter the allegations against her in the impeachment case.
“I do not want to preempt whether she will appear or not. But if I were in her shoes, I would appear because this is my last opportunity to present my case. If I miss this opportunity, then I should anticipate the possibility of losing this case, in other words, receiving a judgment of conviction,” she said.
Duterte was absent from all clarificatory hearings conducted by the House Committee on Justice on March 25 and April 14, 22, and 29, as well as from earlier proceedings to determine sufficiency in form, substance, and grounds.
On May 4, the House Committee, voting 55-0, found probable cause to impeach Duterte by approving its committee report and resolution, setting forth the articles of impeachment against her.
The House of Representatives will convene on Monday to debate and vote on Duterte’s impeachment case, which cites culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, and betrayal of public trust.
Under Article XI, Section 3(3) of the Constitution, a vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House will be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee on Justice, or override its contrary resolution.
Luistro said that out of the 318 members of the House of Representatives, only 106 votes are required to transmit the case to the Senate. Once approved, the Senate will convene as an impeachment court to try Duterte.
“I think she should participate fully this time to be able to present her evidence and counter the evidence of the prosecution. This trial may result in a conviction, but it may also result in an acquittal, depending on the evidence that will be presented by the defense. We’ve already seen the complainants’ evidence, and they were enough to sustain probable cause. But as to whether they are enough to sustain a conviction, it depends on the defense evidence,” she added.
She noted that the senator-judges might give merit to complainants’ evidence as sufficient to support a conviction if Duterte’s defense team fails to present its own evidence to counter the allegations in the complaint.
Based on the press release of the Lower House issued on May 5, the Committee concluded that the evidence on record “meets the constitutional threshold for impeachment” based on the allegations of misuse of confidential funds, alleged unexplained wealth, bribery and corruption, and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, as well as acts described in the report as contributing to political destabilization.
“Central to the findings are allegations that Duterte misused P612.5 million in confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she served as its secretary, citing irregular disbursements, questionable liquidation reports, and unverifiable recipients,” it stated.
The report also details “alleged unexplained wealth, pointing to a sharp rise in Duterte’s declared net worth despite comparatively lower lawful income, as well as Anti-Money Laundering Council data flagging billions of pesos in transactions linked to her and her spouse.” (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
0 Comments