Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte has skipped the impeachment hearing at the House of Representatives for the third consecutive time as the House justice committee resumed the proceedings on Wednesday, April 22.
Duterte was absent in the third day of deliberations, which will focus on allegations of unexplained wealth.
She and her camp earlier skipped previous hearings and instead challenged the legality of the proceedings before the Supreme Court over supposed constitutional flaws.
In her opening statement, House justice committee chairperson Jinky Luistro emphasized the importance of the third hearing, as the panel examines the vice president’s financial records.
“Kung mapapansin ninyo, ang pag-uusapan natin ngayon ay mga numero [If you’ll notice, we’ll talk about numbers]—SALN, tax records from the BIR, and reports from the AMLC. This is the part where the numbers have to be studied, compared, and analyzed. And numbers, unlike people, do not have motives. Numbers do not lie,” she said.
“Numbers, once laid bare, speak with a clarity that cuts through noise—and when they point to a discrepancy, they do not whisper. They demand to be answered. Kung ayaw magsalita ng tao, kung ayaw humarap ng Bise Presidente, hayaan natin na ang mga numero ang magkwento,” Luistro added.
[Translation: Numbers, once laid bare, speak with a clarity that cuts through noise—and when they point to a discrepancy, they do not whisper. They demand to be answered. If someone does not want to speak, if our vice president does not want to show up, let the numbers speak.]
Ombudsman Boying Remulla attended the hearing after being summoned to submit the statement of assets, liabilities and net worth of Duterte from 2007 to 2025.
Also invited to the proceedings was Bangko Sentral Governor Eli Remolona Jr., who serves as the chairman of the Anti Money Laundering Council. The agency was asked to submit records of supposed suspicious bank transactions linked to Duterte and her husband, Mans Carpio.
The committee also issued subpoenas to officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Securities and Exchange Commission to shed light on the tax and corporate records of the couple, respectively.
Carpio earlier asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction against the subpoena for his tax records.
The April 22 hearing is the second to the last, with proceedings expected to wrap up on April 29.
The previous hearing featured the testimony of Duterte’s self-confessed bagman, Ramil Madriaga, who disclosed that he disposed of the vice president’s ₱125 million confidential funds in 2022 in less than 24 hours.
Out of the ₱125 million, the Commission on Audit ruled with finality that Duterte must return ₱73.2 million in disallowed funds.
The agency also revealed that it had issued a notice of disallowance on Duterte’s confidential funds in 2023 amounting to ₱375 million, raising her potential obligations to ₱448 million.
Duterte is facing two impeachment suits over supposed betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, and high crimes, among others, over allegations of fund misuse, threats against the presidential family, and unexplained wealth.
