The House Committee on Justice is strictly adhering to a rules-based and evidence-driven process in tackling the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte and is prepared should her camp elevate the matter to the Supreme Court (SC), Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said Sunday.
He stressed that every step taken by the panel is anchored on evidence and law.
“Rules-based, every step of the committee is evidence-based. All rulings are anchored on evidence and existing laws,” he said.
The justice panel is currently proceeding with hearings on the remaining two impeachment complaints against Duterte that were found sufficient in form, substance, and grounds.
Ridon rejected claims from the Vice President’s camp that the allegations are merely legal conclusions or speculation.
“But we have to be very clear—everything that has been discussed previously is not based on speculation, these are based on evidence,” he said.
He cited Commission on Audit reports and prior proceedings, including hearings by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability or the House Blue Ribbon Committee, which uncovered findings on the alleged misuse of confidential funds.
He pointed to the concrete bases of the complaints, including Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, alleged unexplained wealth, and COA findings.
From 2007 to 2024, the Vice President’s estimated cumulative salary was only around P30 million to P40 million, leaving a gap that needs to be explained in relation to her reported net worth of about P88 million in 2025.
Ridon said the committee would subpoena business, tax, and professional records to determine whether the assets are explainable.
On confidential funds, allegations were backed by COA reports, including a disallowance of at least P70 million, he said.
He said that due process is strictly observed throughout the proceedings.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro, House Committee on Justice chairperson, on Sunday urged fellow lawmakers to treat the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte as a duty owed to the Filipino people, not to political allies, rivals, or religious blocs, as Congress moves toward the hearing proper of the case on March 25.
She followed that appeal with a reminder that the stakes go beyond institutional courtesy or political caution.
“So let us be honest in our duty to the sovereign Filipino people in hearing this impeachment complaint and later on in voting on this impeachment complaint, because what is at stake is the future of the country,” Luistro said.
She framed the impeachment process not as a criminal prosecution but as a constitutional inquiry into whether a public official remains fit to continue in office.
