Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte and her lawyers’ media explanations on her alleged undeclared wealth have no weight in determining probable cause, the House justice committee chairperson said, noting her absence from its hearings.
“I must say wala siyang [it has no] impact because they were not formally presented before the justice committee,” Rep. Gerville “Jinky” Luistro told NewsWatch Plus on Friday, April 24.
“Again, let me emphasize, the proper forum is the justice committee and not the media,” she added.
In a statement on Thursday, Duterte said she declared all her wealth in her statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), disputing allegations raised in the impeachment complaints against her.
During the committee hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers flagged that Duterte did not declare any cash on hand or in bank in her SALNs from 2019 onwards, while records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council showed billions in bank deposits linked to her and her husband, Mans Carpio as recipients.
In a press conference, Duterte’s defense team said the vice president did declare her cash assets, but they were allegedly lumped together with other items in her SALN.
“It’s easy to say that but that is something which needs to be presented formally and needs to be proven… and they must tally with the documents of the other government agencies,” Luistro said.
“And that’s why I’m saying that we cannot consider that, we cannot weigh that, we cannot accept that as an answer of the respondent because they were never presented formally before the justice committee,” she added.
‘Probable cause established’
Luistro said there is sufficient basis to determine probable cause against Duterte at this point, citing alleged misuse of confidential funds in earlier hearings and the “big disparity” between her SALN and bank deposit records.
She said the allegations remain “unrebutted” due to Duterte’s refusal to appear in hearings while making public statements and blanket denials.
“So this only establishes the fact that further proceeding is necessary. And by further proceeding it means trial before the Senate,” she said.
Luistro also cited possible probable cause for further proceedings involving Davao businessman Sammy Uy’s alleged bank deposits to Duterte, which form part of the alleged undeclared wealth. The Vice President’s camp has said it has not been proven that Uy was a drug lord, as claimed by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and that there is no proof that Duterte did receive the funds.
However, Luistro explained: “If you look back to the explanation or description of probable cause in the past impeachment cases, it only means justification to be able to proceed to the next step of the impeachment proceeding. So I think regardless of lack of evidence to show that it was actually received, the thing is there was an allegation that that is a manager’s check issued by Samuel Uy to the VP and these transactions were actually confirmed by AMLC as similar to those appearing in their reports,” she said.
“For purposes of probable cause, I think that has been sufficiently met already. As to the defense of walang [there is no] proof of actual receipt, these things should be threshed out during the trial which should happen before the Senate,” she added.
The House justice committee will hold another hearing on April 29 focusing on Duterte’s alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and members of his family. It may decide by then on probable cause.
The committee report will then be taken up and voted on in plenary. Should the House of Representatives vote to impeach Duterte, it will next transmit the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court for trial.
