House panel subpoenas NBI's Matibag, VP Sara's lawyer for next impeachment hearing

The House Committee on Justice has issued a subpoena for National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Atty. Melvin A. Matibag in relation to Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment hearings. 

The House panel directed Matibag to attend the hearing next week, April 14, and turn over records of the bureau’s probe into alleged threats to kill made by Duterte against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

In a subpoena ad testificandum et duces tecum dated March 31, 2026, the panel directed Matibag to attend its hearing on April 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

“You are hereby directed to appear before the Committee on Justice on April 14, 2026, 10:00 A.M., at the 2nd Floor of the People Center, House of Representatives, and to submit the following documents,” the order read.

TIMELINE: Impeachment proceedings vs. Vice President Sara Duterte

The House panel also sought “certified true copies of all documents and photographs gathered in the course of the above-mentioned investigation.”

The panel said that the documents are needed “for the Committee to be apprised of the outcome of the NBI investigation, and the information and evidence gathered by the NBI in the course of its investigation.”

Meanwhile, a subpoena was also issued to Duterte’s lawyer, Atty. Michael Poa. 

He has also been directed to appear in the next hearing and submit documents that the Department of Education submitted to the Commission on Audit in connection with the department’s confidential funds.

The subpoena was issued “by authority of the Committee,” bearing the signatures of Justice Committee chairperson Atty. Gerville Luistro, Speaker Bojie Dy, and Secretary General Atty. Cheloy E. Velicaria-Garafil.

The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President accuses her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts: 

• Alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential fund and using them as bribes 
• Threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and his family, including her desire to remove the head of the Chief Executive and 
• Alleged accumulation of unexplained wealth

The House committee on justice already found these complaints sufficient in form, substance, and in grounds.

The panel is in the process of determining whether there is probable cause to impeach the Vice President. —with reports from Tina Panganiban-Perez/ VAL, GMA News