Metro Manila, Philippines – It’s all systems go for the House justice committee to resume its impeachment hearing against Vice President Sara Duterte, with the investigation expected to feature key financial records and a witness seen as a potential ‘missing link’ in the corruption allegations.
House Speaker Bojie Dy earlier said the proceedings – which Duterte challenged before the Supreme Court – would push through in the absence of a stay order.
Here’s what to expect.
Madriaga, confidential funds
Key witness Ramil Madriaga, Duterte’s self-confessed bagman, is expected to testify for the first time.
Madriaga, who is now facing a perjury complaint, earlier claimed delivering duffle bags of cash to a number of people on Duterte’s orders – from money allegedly linked to confidential funds.
The House of Representatives vowed heightened security for Madriaga for his transport from his detention center in Taguig City to the Batsang Pambansa in Quezon City.
The committee also summoned Cynthia Viñas-Pantonal who notarized Madriaga’s affidavit.
Also summoned to the hearing was Michael Poa, one of the vice president’s legal counsels in her impeachment case.
Lawmakers invited Poa to shed light on confidential fund utilization, as the former chief of staff of the Department of Education, which led Duterte from 2022 to 2023.
The panel also summoned key government officials to authenticate records related to confidential fund use:
- National Statistician Dennis Mapa to verify civil registry records of supposed confidential fund recipients
- Gloria Camora from the Commission on Audit to verify liquidation records
Financial records, NBI probe
To shed light on allegations of unexplained wealth, the committee summoned the following officials to submit key financial records linked to Duterte and her spouse, Manases Carpio:
- Ombudsman Boying Remulla for Duterte’s statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth from 2007 to 2025
- Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Charlito Mendoza for Duterte and Carpio’s income tax returns, as well as tax records of companies tied to them
- Securities and Exchange Commission chairperson Francis Lim for corporate records of businesses supposedly linked to the couple
Carpio sought a stay order on the subpoena concerning his tax records, said panel member and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon.
The House also summoned National Bureau of Investigation chief Melvin Matibag to submit results of the agency’s probe on Duterte’s threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and cousin, at a midnight briefing in 2024.
There is no word yet if Duterte will face the proceedings. She and her defense team skipped the previous hearing and instead challenged the proceedings with the SC over supposed constitutional flaws.
The complainants want Duterte impeached for supposed betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, and high crimes, among others, over allegations of fund misuse, threats to the first family, and unexplained wealth.
