Sara Duterte insists no ‘sufficient evidence’ to justify impeachment case

Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday said that the petition for the issuance of a subpoena duces tecum to secure certain records for the impeachment proceedings only shows a lack of sufficient evidence to warrant a case against her.

This, after House Deputy Minority Leader Chel Diokno of Akbayan party-list asked the House committee on justice to subpoena some key documents, including Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), “to fulfill its mandate of evaluating the evidence in order to decide if sufficient grounds for impeachment exist.”

“This only reinforces what I have been saying all along. There is no sufficient evidence to warrant an impeachment case against me,” Duterte said in a statement. 

To recall, House leaders have said that the House committee on justice has the authority to subpoena and subsequently examine the bank records of Duterte.

Section 2 of the Bank Secrecy Act states that all bank deposits are confidential, except in some cases including impeachment. 

But the Vice President maintained that the House committee on justice’s finding that the impeachment complaints against her are sufficient in substance “presupposes that the allegations in the complaints are supported by evidence.”

“The Committee cannot conduct an investigation to search for evidence to support accusations already made in the impeachment complaints. Doing so would amount to a third ‘fishing expedition’ by the House of Representatives,” she said. 

She noted that the first one was done during the 2024 budget hearing, while the second one was during the hearings by the House committee on good government and public accountability, where the infamous “Mary Grace Piattos” was floated.

“Now we are witnessing yet another desperate attempt to search for evidence where none exists,” Duterte said.

“Let me say this again for the nth time: The impeachment is a political attack designed to protect certain individuals and advance personal and foreign interests,” she added. 

She also said that the continuous attacks by the Office of the President and the House of Representatives amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East are an “insult” to the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the poor, and the Filipino families affected by the crisis.

Preserve evidence

Diokno, in response, said that he respects Duterte’s opinion, adding that she has every opportunity to refute the allegations against her by submitting her answer and evidence. 

“I respect the Vice President’s opinion about the proceedings. However, my motion is clear: to preserve the documentary evidence and secure a witness so the Committee on Justice can fulfill its duty of assessing the evidence,” the solon said. 

“Sa huli, ang ebidensya ang magsasabi kung dapat may pananagutan. At ang impeachment proceeding ang tamang lugar para lumabas ang katotohanan,” he added. 

(In the end, evidence will determine whether there should be accountability. And the impeachment proceeding is the right place for the truth to come out.) 

House committee on justice chairperson and Batangas Second District Representative Gerville Luistro explained the need for subpoenas.

“There is sufficiency in substance in the recital of facts that constitute an offense determinative of the jurisdiction of the Committee on Justice. On step three, what we determine on the basis of the pleadings and the evidence available is sufficient ground. So, we cannot say the Committee was erroneous because they are asking for issuance of subpoena now,” she said in a "24 Oras" report by Tina Panganiban-Perez on Friday.

"From wanting a bloodbath, VP Sara is now once again trying to evade impeachment,"  House Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima added in a statement.

Aside from the issuance of subpoena duces tecum, Diokno has also asked the justice panel to take custody of Ramil Madriaga, Duterte's alleged former aide, pending the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President.

Duterte’s legal counsel, Atty. Paolo Panelo Jr., backed Diokno’s appeal, stressing that they want Madriaga “alive and well.” 

In response, Luistro said that Madriaga is currently in detention for a kidnapping case, which means that the House must seek court permission for his custody.

“Hindi kami pwedeng umaksyon on our own. (We cannot act on our own.) We need to seek the conformity of the court by way of an order issued by the same court. Because the jurisdiction is with the court,” she said.

On March 4, the House committee on justice found the impeachment complaints against Duterte sufficient in substance.

The impeachment complaints mainly accuse the Vice President of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, over the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds, and threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his family. 

Duterte was given until Monday, March 16, to submit her response to the impeachment complaints. —with Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL/VBL, GMA Integrated News