MANILA, Philippines — The grounds stated in the two impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte have been deemed sufficient by the House of Representatives’ committee on justice, setting the stage for hearings on the matter.
During the hearing on Wednesday, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor moved to declare the third complaint sufficient in ground as Deputy Speaker Janette Garin made the motion for the fourth impeachment rap.
As both motions were seconded and no objections were raised, committee chairperson and Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro declared the grounds sufficient.
Earlier, Luistro said that the panel will now go straight to discussing the sufficiency of the grounds, as petitioners waived their right to reply.
“Today’s agenda is simple, yet heavy with consequence. We reiterate that we are not here to decide guilt or innocence. This is not a trial […] We are here for one question, one question only: is there sufficient basis to continue the process of impeachment?” Luistro said in her opening speech.Under Section 7 of the House’s Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings, the sufficiency of the grounds is determined after the committee on justice evaluates the respondent’s answer, the complainants’ reply, and the respondent’s subsequent rejoinder in contrast to the petition filed.
But since the complainants behind the third and fourth complaints waived their right to reply to Duterte’s answer as they considered it a “non-answer,” the committee went straight to determining whether there are sufficient grounds in the complaint.
“After receipt of the pleadings, affidavits and counter-affidavits and relevant documents provided for in Section 6, or the expiration of the time within which they may be filed, the Committee shall determine whether the complaint alleges sufficient grounds for impeachment,” the House Rules state,” the House Rules state.
Since the committee found the two complaints’ grounds sufficient, they will now move to a hearing proper where evidence will be examined, witnesses will be heard, and the respondent will be given a chance to address questions.
“If it finds that sufficient grounds for impeachment do not exist, the Committee shall dismiss the complaint and submit the report required hereunder. If the Committee finds that sufficient grounds for impeachment exist, the Committee shall conduct a hearing,” it added.
Sufficiency of grounds differs from the determination of the sufficiency in substance in the sense that the substance test checks whether there is a “recital of facts constituting the offense charged and determinative of the jurisdiction of the committee.”
Members of the committee have previously said that this means the complaints are being subjected to the question of whether the charges mentioned, if true, is considered an impeachable offense.
READ: Solons counter Suntay: Checking witness’ credibility to be done later
The same House Rules of the 19th Congress, which the 20th Congress adopted, state that there are five steps in the impeachment:
- filing of complaints and referral to the committee on justice
- determination of sufficiency in form and substance
- determination of sufficiency in grounds
- hearing the presentation of evidence, memoranda, and witnesses
- crafting of the report and recommendation
READ: What to expect: VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings
With the committee declaring the raps sufficient in substance last March 4 and now declaring it as sufficient in terms of grounds, the proceedings will now move to the fourth step.
Two out of four complaints remain under the jurisdiction of the committee on justice, after the first complaint was set aside for allegedly violating the one-year bar rule, while the second was withdrawn by its petitioners.
All four complaints contained allegations that are similar to the botched impeachment attempt last February 2025 — from allegations of confidential funds misuse, threats against ranking officials, bribery of officials, and other possible violations of the 1987 Constitution./coa /jpv