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Delon Porcalla - The Philippine Star
March 26, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on justice issued multiple subpoenas yesterday in connection with the ongoing impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, including a summons to the ombudsman to produce certified true copies of her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth from 2007 to 2013, 2016 to 2022 and 2022 to 2025, when she served as Davao City vice mayor, mayor and vice president, respectively.
The committee also directed the issuance of subpoenas to the Bureau of Internal Revenue for tax records of Duterte, her husband Manases Carpio and identified business entities from 2007 to 2025.
The Securities and Exchange Commission was also issued subpoenas for general information sheets and audited financial statements of several firms linked to Duterte and her family “to verify ownership and financial activity.”
Also subpoenaed, via a 34-1-0 vote, was the certified true copy report of the National Bureau of Investigation pertaining to Duterte’s assassination threat against President Marcos, his wife First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and cousin former speaker Martin Romualdez in November 2024.
Voting 29-1 with zero abstention, the committee also summoned Ramil Lagunoy Madriaga, Duterte’s self-confessed alleged bagman.
The detainee, who allegedly received death threats and a P500-million bribe while inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig for a separate offense, was ordered to be produced and testify in person, while his November 2025 sworn affidavit was likewise summoned.
Akbayan party-list Rep. Chel Diokno moved for the transfer of Madriaga to a “safe place” that the House will determine, for purposes of protecting his person and the possibility of him testifying before the panel. Committee members voted 35-1-0.
Senior deputy minority leader and ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima also moved to summon lawyer Cynthia Vinas-Pantonal, the notary public who notarized Madriaga’s affidavit, as well as a representative of the Philippine Statistics Authority over the records of names submitted by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd). Both motions were approved.
The justice committee, voting 34-3, also summoned Duterte’s lawyer Michael Poa, who served as her spokesman both in the OVP and DepEd.
Poa, meanwhile, reiterated the defense’s wish for Madriaga to be safe so he can testify at the hearings.
“We can contradict his claims if he will be able to testify at the proper forum, assuming there are no constitutional infirmities and the impeachment case reaches the Senate, maybe that’s the proper time for us to test his credibility,” he said.
Cagayan de Oro City 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who voted “No” on all approved motions, went to the extent of even discrediting Madriaga, whom he called a “polluted witness,” and described moves to summon Duterte’s SALNs as a “classic fishing expedition.”
The next hearings of the committee headed by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville Luistro will be on April 14, 22 and 29.
No-show
As expected, Duterte snubbed yesterday’s House justice panel hearing on the impeachment raps against her.
“Failure to participate in the hearings before the committee on justice is tantamount to a culpable violation of the Constitution,” Luistro said in her opening statement yesterday.
De Lima shared the same sentiments: “So this is disrespect, another manifestation of her affront to the constitutional process.”
Despite the snub, Luistro said the committee will keep on inviting the Vice President throughout the rest of the hearings.
The justice panel chair also gave assurance that the House continues to address pressing economic issues, amid criticisms that it is fixated on the impeachment cases of the Vice President.
She also dismissed claims that there is external pressure on lawmakers handling the impeachment case.
“We do not owe this to the President. We do not owe this to the Vice President. Neither do we owe this to any religious group,” Luistro stressed.
For Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Duterte’s absence at yesterday’s hearing showcased her disdain for the public’s desire for accountability and justice.
“Moreover, it indicates her desperate attempt to delay and disrupt the impeachment process,” Bayan secretary general Raymond Palatino said in a statement. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Emmanuel Tupas, Bella Cariaso
