The Manila Times
THE House of Representatives is set to vote today, May 11, on the report of the Committee on Justice finding probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte. The voting will determine whether the four articles of impeachment against Duterte will be transmitted to the Senate. Justice Committee Chairman Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said the committee is prepared to defend before the plenary the findings, evidence and proceedings that led to the unanimous approval of the impeachment report. The justice panel had voted unanimously, 53-0, to impeach Duterte and later overwhelmingly approved, 55-0, the committee report and resolution, moving the articles of impeachment up for plenary deliberations. Luistro said lawmakers could expect intense debates on both the panel’s findings and the conduct of the proceedings. Under the constitution, one-third of all House members — or 106 votes out of the 318-member chamber — would be enough to approve the impeachment articles and immediately forward them to the Senate for trial. If the one-third vote is not reached, the complaint is automatically dismissed. Luistro said there would be nominal voting, with each House member individually called to publicly cast a yes or no vote. She said the plenary discussions would center on the four consolidated articles of impeachment adopted by the Justice Committee after combining similar allegations from the Saballa and Cabrera impeachment complaints. The first article involves the alleged misuse and irregular disbursement of confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as secretary. During the hearings, the justice panel examined the alleged questionable utilization of P612.5 million in confidential funds — P500 million under the OVP and P112.5 million under DepEd. Lawmakers also tackled allegations that P125 million in confidential funds released to the OVP in late 2022 had been consumed in less than 24 hours, based on testimony from self-confessed Duterte “bagman” Ramil Madriaga. The second article focuses on allegations of unexplained wealth and discrepancies involving Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) and bank transactions flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). The justice panel had reviewed AMLC findings showing 663 covered and suspicious transactions totaling about P6.77 billion allegedly linked to Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases Carpio. The AMLC findings reportedly included about P3.77 billion in transactions linked to Duterte and roughly P2.99 billion linked to Carpio. The hearings also examined Duterte’s SALN, which reflected net worth increasing from P7.25 million in 2007 to P88.51 million in 2024. Last week, Carpio’s lawyer Peter Paul Danao said the Bank of the Philippine Islands clarified the reported “P2 billion” amount was in fact “P2 million,” supposedly caused by a “system glitch.” The third article concerns allegations of bribery tied to cash envelopes reportedly distributed to DepEd officials when Duterte was secretary. Lawmakers received testimony and records involving alleged P50,000 cash in envelopes labeled “HOPE,” which were allegedly handed to officials connected to procurement functions within the department. The fourth article centers on Duterte’s controversial remarks in November 2024 in which she publicly stated online that she had arranged for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to be killed should anything happen to her. The Justice Committee examined evidence and testimony related to the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) authentication of the video and the subsequent criminal investigation triggered by Duterte’s statements. Duterte has denied all the allegations. The plenary session starts at 3 p.m., with the impeachment complaint as the only agenda. Duterte's defense team said last week that the committee's finding of probable cause to impeach her was "not unexpected." "We respectfully maintain that the proceedings before the Committee departed from the constitutional design. Instead of confining itself to the verified complaints and their attachments, the process expanded into matters that properly belong to a full trial," the team said. VP will be impeached On Sunday, House Deputy Speaker and Bacolod Lone District Rep. Albee Benitez said it was likely that “the Vice President will be impeached, based on the evidence presented.” Benitez said that based on his consultations with fellow lawmakers, about 200 of them have signaled their intent to vote "yes." He said the vast majority of the Visayan bloc is for impeachment, along with “one hundred percent of the congressmen in the Negros Island Region.” Benitez cautioned that nothing is official until votes are actually counted. "Some people say they'll vote for impeachment now, but things might shift at the last minute,” he said. Benitez also denied rumors that there are congressmen who were paid to vote against the vice president. "It is not being discussed and I did not see it. What I am more concerned about is the weight of the evidence. If there is probable cause because that's what the rules of the House require. What we saw during the hearings of the House Committee on Justice is there is a big basis and evidence towards probable cause," he said. On Sunday, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte urged Cebuano lawmakers to reject the impeachment of his sister, Vice President Duterte. Duterte also alleged that some congressmen were being offered incentives, including P200 million worth of infrastructure projects, P3 million monthly under Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses, and an upfront P20 million, in exchange for voting for impeachment. With Kaiser Jan Fuentes and PNA
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