Garin: No payoffs, coercion in Sara Duterte impeachment

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker Janette Garin of Iloilo on Friday said there were no payoffs or coercion in the move by the House committee on justice to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, saying the unanimous vote of its 53 members was driven by evidence against Duterte.

The Iloilo lawmaker issued the statement in response to a report alleging a supposed P1.3-billion “appearance fee” fund for justice panel members.

“There is no truth to the ‘appearance fees,’ and even more so, there was no coercion,” Garin said.

“The evidence presented against the vice president was substantial, and she failed to answer it because she chose to be absent from all the hearings. It is therefore not surprising that the vote for probable cause was unanimous,” she added.

Voting 53–0 with no abstentions, the justice panel found probable cause to impeach Duterte after weeks of hearings that built a detailed evidentiary record on alleged fund misuse, unexplained wealth, and threats against top officials.

READ: Duterte bloc dared: Fight impeachment at House plenary

Garin said the unfounded allegations against committee members were a predictable attempt to discredit the outcome and shift attention away from the evidence on record.

“This narrative is meant to distract from the evidence. But the record is clear: the vote was based on facts, documents, and sworn testimony,” she said.

“There was no pressure, no directive, and no money involved. What we saw was an independent body doing its constitutional duty,” she added.

Garin also stressed that lawmakers would not risk their credibility for baseless claims.

“No member of the committee would compromise their integrity for something like this. Our votes are on record, and they are backed by evidence,” she said.

She urged the vice president’s camp to confront the impeachment allegations in the proper constitutional forum.

“If they have answers, they should present them in the impeachment process, under oath and backed by evidence. That is where issues are tested and resolved, not through speculation or public insinuations,” Garin said.

The committee is set to approve its report recommending impeachment, which will be submitted to the plenary before the possible transmittal of the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial. /atm