House panel holds impeach probe sans Sara

(UPDATE) MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives' Committee on Justice on Wednesday proceeded with the hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte even after she said that she would skip the hearing and urged lawmakers to junk the case against her. Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, the committee chairman, said at the start of the hearing that "regardless of the participation of the Vice President and even in her absence, this committee will proceed. We will do our duty with resolve, without hesitation, and without delay." On Tuesday night, Luistro said the committee would proceed with the scheduled hearing despite the information it received. "We received information that the Vice President and her legal team will not be participating in tomorrow's (Wednesday) formal hearing," she said. "They are questioning the constitutionality of the proceedings, but the Committee on Justice is duty-bound to continue with its mandate under the Constitution," she said. Luistro maintained that the committee was committed to a fair and constitutional conduct of the proceedings. The committee is conducting the hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to impeach Duterte who is facing charges of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust over the alleged misuse of intelligence funds from the Office of the Vice President (OVP)  and Department of Education where she served briefly as its secretary before resigning. The complaints were found to be sufficient in: form, substance, and grounds. In a statement earlier on Wedbesday, Duterte said she preferred to devote her time to serving Filipinos by providing assistance "to ease the financial burden of the families most in need.". She also called on the commitee to junk the impeachment complaints against her for "lack of evidence." Duterte said that the invitation was used to construct a media narrative of a "mini trial" based on her alleged refusal to answer and her failure to attend the hearing. "​In this manner, the hearings are being used by the House of Representatives to conduct yet another third fishing expedition against me," Duterte said. She reiterated that the country's current problems were the "looming closure of businesses, the loss of jobs, and the hardship faced by every Filipino family due to the continuous rise in the prices of goods,". "​Once again, politics is being prioritized over the welfare of millions of Filipinos who are struggling deeply due to the high cost of commodities," Duterte said. She reiterated that there was no rule that stated that a respondent in an impeachment complaint must personally attend the hearings. "​I have already submitted my Answer ad Cautelam. At this point, the Committee has nothing left to do but dismiss the complaints due to a clear lack of evidence," Duterte said.

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