House to tackle Sara impeach raps on March 2
Vice President Sara Duterte will be given a chance to respond to the impeachment complaints against her, but it will be her prerogative whether to appear at the House of Representatives, Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said on Tuesday.
The House committee on justice chaired by Luistro is set to deliberate on the four impeachment complaints against Duterte beginning on March 2.
She is facing allegations of betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption, including the misuse of P612 million in confidential funds. Despite this, the vice president seems unfazed and declared on Feb. 18 her intention to seek the presidency in 2028.
Luistro clarified that Duterte will be invited to the hearings only if the complaints against her are determined to be sufficient in form and substance. Notices will then be sent to her to file a reply, and to the complainants to submit their response.
But whether Duterte will heed the invitation, if at all, will be her prerogative, Luistro said in an interview.
“Again, her presence in the hearing is part of her right to due process. So whether she wishes to come or not, it is actually her prerogative. So if she does not attend the hearing, it will be interpreted merely as her waiver of her right to be present during the hearing,” she added.
The House rules are silent on whether Duterte’s lawyers can appear on her behalf, but if there will be such a request from her camp, the matter will be decided by the committee, Luistro said.
According to the lawmaker, the committee will report on the dismissal of the complaints if it determines these to be insufficient in form and substance.
Probable cause
But if these are deemed sufficient in both aspects, Duterte will be notified “to file an answer within the period of 10 calendar days,” she said.
After this, the committee will proceed to hear the complaints and determine probable cause for the crafting of the articles of impeachment.
“After our hearing proper, the justice members will be voting on the determination of probable cause. The required vote is the majority of all the members of the justice committee,” Luistro said, adding that ex-officio committee members can attend and vote.
Hours after Duterte declared her presidential plan, lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera filed the fourth impeachment complaint against her.
Supreme Court ruling
It was based on her alleged misuse of confidential funds, nondeclaration of all her assets, abuse of power, bribery of officials and threats against President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The first three complaints were filed by the Makabayan Coalition and civil society groups on Feb. 2, and lawyers and clergy members on Feb. 9.
Under current House rules, and in accordance with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that sets the reckoning dates for the impeachment process, the Office of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has until March 2 to transmit the first two impeachment complaints to the justice committee.
Duterte was impeached on Feb. 5 last year after 215 House lawmakers filed and signed a fourth complaint against her. But the high court ruled on July 25 that her impeachment was unconstitutional for violating the rule barring multiple impeachment processes against the same official within one year.
The House filed a motion for reconsideration but this was dismissed with finality by the Supreme Court on Jan. 29.
The fourth complaint accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust over her alleged misuse of more than P612 million in confidential funds, among others, and her supposed threat to have the President, first lady and Romualdez assassinated.
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