House panel nears probable cause vote in Sara impeachment

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MANILA, Philippines — The House justice committee appears set to move toward a probable cause vote in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, with chair Rep. Gerville Luistro (Batangas) saying many members now see strong support for the allegations.

Luistro said testimony at Tuesday's hearing, particularly on alleged unexplained wealth and discrepancies in Duterte's statement of assets, liabilities and net worth, reinforced the complaints already filed.

"Sa pamamagitan ng mga ebidensiya na naipakita kahapon, at least for the majority of the justice members, napatunayan na may basehan ang mga alegasyon sa impeachment complaint," Luistro said in an interview on ANC's "Headstart" on Wednesday, April 23. (With the use of evidence presented yesterday, at least for the majority of the justice members, it was proven that there is basis for the allegations in the impeachment complaint.)

As far as unexplained wealth and non-disclosure in SALNs are concerned, the evidence had gone beyond the threshold of probable cause, she said.

Luistro added that allegations involving confidential funds were also, at minimum, sufficient for probable cause, citing a ruling denying an appeal over P73 million and notices of disallowance covering three audit observation memoranda for 2023.

AMLC's findings

The panel's latest hearing focused on reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which said banks had flagged P6.77 billion in covered and suspicious transactions linked to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Mans Carpio, from 2005 to early 2026.

Luistro said what mattered most was not simply the size of the transactions but the apparent gaps between those AMLC-reported movements and Duterte's SALN disclosures.

"What is really significant in the SALN... is not the net worth of P88 million. It is not simply the increase in the amount of net worth. What is significant there is the non-disclosure," Luistro said.

AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura told the panel that 19 of 19 sample transactions raised by lawmakers were "completely similar" to those appearing in the council's report.

A matter that divided panel members on Tuesday, however, was whether to open a sealed box from the Bureau of Internal Revenue said to contain Duterte's and her husband's income tax returns.

The matter would have to be resolved before the committee closes its proceedings, Luistro said. If the box remains sealed, one option is to transmit it to the Senate should the House panel find probable cause.

What's next for the committee?

Luistro said the panel is still inclined to hold a clarificatory hearing on the allegation that Duterte made threats, with the National Bureau of Investigation compelled with a subpoena to present digital and documentary evidence. That hearing is set for April 29.

But she said members are already showing little appetite for more hearing dates beyond that.

"Since we only have one resource person [left], the NBI... we anticipate that at the end of the hearing on April 29, the justice members will proceed to vote on the determination of probable cause," Luistro said.

She added there was a "very big possibility" the vote would happen by the end of April because the threat allegation is the last remaining offense to be taken up and no other hearing requests have been raised by members.

The impeachment complaints against Duterte include allegations involving misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, non-disclosure in SALNs and threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others.

The House panel began its clarificatory hearings in March after the Supreme Court said even impeachment complaints endorsed by at least one-third of House members require a deliberative process.

If the committee votes to find probable cause, the case would move to the House plenary and, if transmitted, to the Senate for trial.