Evidence vs VP Sara ‘essentially complete,’ House official says
The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte can proceed with sufficient evidence even if potential prosecutors of the House of Representatives sought more documentary evidence, a move that Duterte derided as a “fishing expedition.”
“A fishing expedition presupposes an absolute absence of documentation before proceeding with any impeachment. It’s not true [that we are undertaking a fishing expedition],” Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon told reporters on Saturday.
“Even if we don’t undertake subpoenas, the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President will in fact proceed. It is essentially complete,” Ridon added.
Speaking at a media forum on Saturday, Ridon, a member of the House committee on justice, said they expect Duterte to submit a response to the 10-day notice of the panel about her impeachment proceedings.
The deadline fell on a weekend and since Congress has no session during the time, Ridon said they expect the Vice President to comply with the requirement by Monday.
Picture complete
Ridon said the panel has already received reports from the Commission on Audit related to Duterte’s use of her confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education before she resigned in 2024.
At the same time, the panel also has a video recording of Duterte threatening President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as copies of the Vice President’s statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), according to Ridon.
He also pointed out that the panel also has a copy of the affidavit executed by Ramil Madriaga, the alleged former “bagman” of Duterte.
“So this means that what the House members wanted to subpoena is only a part of the process of obtaining additional documentation,” Ridon said.
Coming in due time
He explained that the House committee on justice was asking for bank accounts and reports by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), all of which can only be obtained in the course of the impeachment proceedings, since the documents are covered by the bank secrecy law.
The complainants themselves can only obtain copies of the bank documents and AMLC reports if there are ongoing impeachment proceedings, he explained.
At the same time, the panel will also subpoena the income tax returns of Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio, as well as their bank transactions and businesses of the couple indicated in their SALN for 2023 and 2024 as part of the impeachment proceedings.
Regarding her SALN, the Vice President had a net worth of P7 million in 2007 and rose to P18 million in 2008, according to Ridon.
In her 2024 SALN, however, Duterte had a net worth of P88 million, which showed a “gap” that must be explained.
Duterte’s cumulative SALN from 2007 to 2024 should be around P30 to P40 million only, amounts that are far from the indicated net worth of P88 million in the most recent SALN, Ridon said.
“So, how can she explain this? She can explain this by clarifying whether [the excess amount] was obtained from other lawful income taken either from their law practice or the business interests listed in the SALN,” Ridon said.
“The P50 million [gap] must be produced by these business interests, by these professional interests,” he also said.
