House panel orders Remulla to bring copies of VP’s SALN
The House of Representatives has summoned Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to its April 14 hearing on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment, with the specific order to bring with him copies of her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), it was learned on Monday.
The committee also ordered Ramil Madriaga, Duterte’s former aide and alleged bagman, to appear at the same hearing and to bring his affidavit against the Vice President, and other evidence in his possession. It also asked that security for Madriaga, who earlier claimed to have received death threats, be tightened ahead of the hearing.
The subpoena testificandum et duces tecum issued to Remulla asked him to bring the certified true copies of Duterte’s SALN from 2022 to 2025, and 2007 to 2013. The March 31 document was signed by House committee on justice chair and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro and Speaker Faustino Dy III.
“You are likewise informed that you have the right to be accompanied by legal counsel during the proceedings; however, such counsel shall be limited to an advisory role and shall not be permitted to speak or otherwise participate in the proceedings,” the House stated in the subpoena to Remulla, copies of which were shown to the media.
Secure Madriaga
The committee also directed the House’s Office of Sergeant at Arms to ensure Madriaga’s security, as he is considered a “material and indispensable” witness.
The order was prompted by the motion from Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, who moved last March 4 that Madriaga be placed under protective custody. Diokno had noted that Madriaga appears to have direct knowledge of several issues, including alleged misuse of confidential funds (CF) within Duterte’s offices.
The body listed the following security-related measures:
• augment Madriaga’s existing security detail by the National Bureau of Investigation;
• provide adequate and sufficient security during his transport to and from the hearings of the committee on justice; and
• implement appropriate safeguards to ensure his safety, security, and integrity while he is testifying before the committee on justice.
Objection
On March 25, the committee approved the issuance of a subpoena on Duterte’s SALN through a motion by Manila Rep. Joel Chua to ask the NBI and the Office of the Ombudsman to submit investigation records and the SALN, respectively.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, however, objected as he wanted the subpoena on the NBI’s and Ombudsman’s files to be made separately.
He called the subpoena on the SALN under the Ombudsman a “fishing expedition” and that “there are no ultimate facts on the SALN of the Vice President.”
Eventually, 34 members voted in favor of Chua’s second motion, with only Rodriguez opposing it.
Huge jump
During the hearings, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon claimed that Duterte’s net worth from 2008 to 2024 rose by over 1,000 percent, saying that her SALN in 2008 showed a net worth of P18.49 million, rising to P77.50 million in 2023, and to P88.51 million in 2024.
Ridon would later clarify in a message to reporters after the hearing that there was a 378 percent increase from Duterte’s net worth of P18.4 million in 2008 to P88.51 million in 2024.
However, if based on Duterte’s 2007 SALN—the first year that she became a public official—the jump from a net worth of P7.2 million to 2024’s P88.51 million represents a 1,120-percent spike.
Two out of four complaints are still under the jurisdiction of the justice committee, after the first complaint was set aside for violating the one-year bar rule, while the second was withdrawn by its petitioners.
All four complaints contained allegations that are similar to the impeachment attempt in February 2025—from allegations of confidential fund misuse, threats against ranking officials, bribery of officials, and other possible violations of the 1987 Constitution.
‘Non-answer’
On March 4, both complaints were declared sufficient in substance, prompting the committee to send the formal notice to Duterte, giving her 10 calendar days to answer.
Duterte beat the deadline on March 16, but complainants from the third and fourth impeachment complaints waived their right to reply to the Vice President’s consolidated verified answer ad cautelam, calling it a “non-answer.”
Due to the waivers, the committee went straight to the determination of sufficiency of grounds in the complaints, making the process a little quicker than expected. After the complaints’ grounds were found sufficient, the committee moved to the hearing proper.
Aside from April 14, the committee has set two more hearing dates on April 22 and 29.
This is the second time that the House has launched an impeachment process against Duterte.
In February 2025, 215 lawmakers endorsed a consolidated complaint to the Senate.
In July 2025, the Supreme Court, however, said it violated the one-year ban on such complaints and declared it as unconstitutional. The ruling was issued just days before the Senate was set to reconvene and proceed with the trial.
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