Metro Manila, Philippines – The House justice committee may end its hearings on the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte by May, a vice chairperson of the panel said.
San Juan City Rep. Ysabel Zamora said the committee has 60 session days to come up with a report containing its findings and recommendations on the impeachment complaints, according to House rules.
“From the time of the initiation or referral to the Committee on Justice, it’s 60 session days. So our estimate is, if I’m not mistaken, mga [by] end of May,” Zamora said at a forum on Saturday, March 28.
The House committee on justice will continue its hearings to determine if there is probable cause in the fresh impeachment complaints against Duterte.
Even with Duterte’s early announcement of a presidential bid for 2028, Zamora said there are enough numbers in the panel for the impeachment proceedings to move forward, as “people still believe in the charges” against the vice president.
Over 200 House members ousted Duterte in February 2025, but the Supreme Court declared the articles of impeachment unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule.
“The Congressmen have read the complaints, and they believe that we are correct in declaring it to be sufficient in form, sufficient in substance, and that the affidavits or the annexes to the complaints are sufficient to show that there is probable cause,” Zamora said.
Meanwhile, Zamora said they had expected the Supreme Court petition against the ongoing impeachment hearings.
Included in the petition of Duterte-allied lawyers was a prayer for a temporary restraining order against the House proceedings.
“I believe that the Supreme Court will act judiciously and properly dahil sasabihin naman po nila na sumusunod lang kami sa kanilang mga directives in their decision and in fact in the resolution dated January 2026,” she said of the petition.
[Translation: I believe that the Supreme Court will act judiciously and properly because the magistrates will say we are only following the directives in their decision and in fact in the resolution dated January 2026.]
