The camp of Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said the impeachment proceedings conducted by the House Committee on Justice were not in accordance with the Constitution.
In a “24 Oras” report, Duterte’s camp said the committee, instead of limiting itself to verified complaints and their attachments, had extended the proceedings to matters that should only be taken up during a full trial.
The House committee on justice on Wednesday, via unanimous vote, found probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte based on two impeachment complaints filed against her.
House justice panel chairperson and Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro said no member of the panel registered an objection. A total of 53 members of the panel were present during the voting.
The House committee on justice voted Wednesday to keep the box containing the income tax returns of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, Manases Carpio, sealed.
The House justice panel made the decision as the motion to open the box received only six votes, while 38 voted against it.
Last week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue submitted the box to the House panel but blocked its opening, saying that such disclosure is only allowed when it is in aid of legislation and must be examined in an executive session, not in a public hearing.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is investigating the identity of a hitman allegedly contracted by Vice President Sara Duterte for an assassination plot against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said this on Wednesday during the hearing of the House justice committee on the impeachment complaint against Duterte. He also reiterated the NBI already has a lead on the hired assassin.
"We have some personalities under surveillance. But I have to apologize na we cannot name the names of those individuals na aming sinusundan but we're zeroing on several individuals already na maaaring 'yun ang kinausap niya sa threat na ginawa niya," Matibag told the House panel.
(We have some personalities under surveillance. I have to apologize that we cannot name the names of those individuals we're investigating but we're zeroing on several individuals that she may have hired.)
The video of a press conference showing Vice President Sara Duterte making a threat to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his family members in certain circumstances constitutes inciting to sedition and three counts of grave threat, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Wednesday.
During a House Committee on Justice hearing into the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte, NBI Deputy Chief of Staff of Legal Services Atty. Yentl Malicad said these findings are stated in the NBI’s investigation report on the Vice President’s press conference held at dawn of November 23, 2025.
In the said video, Duterte uttered: “Pt** ina ninyong lahat — Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Huwag kang mag-alala, Ma’am. Sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ako na tao. Sabi ko sa kanya, kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. 'Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.”
(Motherf*ck*r — Martin Romualdez, Liza Marcos, Bongbong Marcos. Don't you worry, Ma'm. I already talked to my security. I told that person, if I am killed, then you should kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke. I already gave instructions that if I die, don't stop until you are able to kill them.)
“Base po sa ebidensiya na nakalap ng NBI at nai-submit po sa Department of Justice (DOJ) for the purpose of preliminary investigation, ang naging findings po ng NBI, the acts of the Vice President constitute inciting to sedition and grave threats,” Malicad said during the questioning of House Deputy Minority Leader Perci Cendaña of Akbayan Party-list.
(Based on the evidence gathered by the NBI and submitted to the DOJ for the purpose of preliminary investigation, the NBI finds that the acts of the Vice President constitute inciting to sedition and grave threats.)
NBI Director Melvin Matibag, for his part, said the video speaks for itself.
“It does not need explanation. It is an actual threat to the President,” Matibag said.
During the same hearing, NBI Agent John Mark Calilung testified that the press conference video featuring the Vice President making the threat is an authentic video based on NBI authentication process.
“We do authentication to ascertain that the video is authentic and genuine and ensure that the video is not edited, spliced, o AI-generated. We checked the hash value, which is the fingerprint of the digital file. If the video is edited, the hash value will change,” Calilung said.
“It is part of the authenticated video,” he added.
The two impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President accuse her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, among others, mainly over the following acts:
Duterte was a no-show in the House Committee on Justice hearing on Wednesday, April 29.
In November 2024, however, Duterte stood firm that her statement that she ordered to have Marcos killed if an alleged plot against her succeeds was “maliciously taken out of logical context.”
She said her “assassination” statement was not a threat, adding that she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security. —KG, GMA News
Corporate records of several companies linked to Vice President Sara Duterte declared low profit margins despite reporting millions of pesos in gross income, records from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed.
During the continuation of the House justice committee hearing on Duterte's impeachment case, panel chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro raised the possibility of underdeclaration of profits, with one of the corporations indicating less than 1% profit margin in its SEC declaration.
Individuals who oppose the disclosure of bank transactions are those with dirty secrets, House justice committee chairperson and Batangas Second District Rep. Gerville Luistro said Wednesday.
Luistro made the position in response to the complaint filed by lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing the House panel of violating the Bank Secrecy Law, the Data Privacy Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act amid the Anti Money Laundering Council’s disclosure of P6.7 billion worth of covered and suspicious bank transactions under the names of Carpio and the Vice President.
“If there is nothing to hide, there is no reason to hide, no reason to obstruct. The only people who fear the disclosure of these transactions are those with dirty secrets,” the panel chairperson said.
“Transparency is the only response of those withintegrity; everything else is just an excuse,” she added.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will face the House justice committee on Wednesday to present the findings on its investigation into the alleged threats of Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and others.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag arrived at the House of Representatives to testify in the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Duterte. Joining him were NBI Cybercrime Division Investigation Agent John Mark Calilung, and agents Jeremy Lontoc, Homer Angluben, and Vanessa Asuncion.
The House Committee on Justice will continue hearing the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte as scheduled today, April 29, and possibly vote whether there is probable cause to impeach her amid multiple maneuvers seeking to stop its proceedings.
House justice panel chairperson and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro made the response after the Vice President’s husband Atty. Manases "Mans" Carpio filed a complaint against her and other members of the House Committee on Justice before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Monday.
Carpio also included in the complaint officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
This is for alleged violation of the Bank Secrecy Law, the Data Privacy Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act as amended for the disclosure of Carpio and Duterte's bank transactions during the House justice panel impeachment hearing on April 22.
“It depends on the justice members if they will consider this [Carpio court filing] in their determination of probable cause. But as far as our proceeding is concerned, we will just proceed with our hearing and conclude it in the determination of probable cause,” Luistro said.
During the said hearing on April 22, AMLC reported that bank transactions totaling P6.7 billion—classified as covered and suspicious—were recorded under the names of Duterte and Carpio. Of the total amount, P3.7 billion was attributed to the Vice President, while P2.998 billion was linked to Carpio.
The P6.7 billion figure was not found on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) of the Vice President wherein there was no line item for cash on hand or in bank from 2019 to 2024.
“Why is this figure not indicated in her SALN entries? This is hard to explain. Where did such huge amount of money came out? And where did it go?,” House justice panel member and Bicol Saro Party-list Representative Terry Ridon said.
“Wala sa SALN 'yan (It is not reflected in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth)," House justice panel vice chair Representative Joel Chua said.
Vice President Sara Duterte's lawyer Atty. Michael Poa however on Friday explained that she has no cash on hand declared in her official SALN since 2019 because it was "lumped" under the “others” line item.
Ridon said that AMLC's disclosure of the P6.7 billion worth of bank transactions that came in and out of the couple’s bank accounts cannot be simply dismissed.
“SALN is supposed to disclose the personal income of the spouses. And so, the ITRs can justify the P88 million [declaration of net worth by the Vice President in 2024]. It could be of help to the prosecution or the defense team, but we cannot tell now because we haven't seen the contents of that box,” Luistro said.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday blocked the House Committee on Justice from opening a box containing the income tax returns (ITRs) of Duterte and Carpio.
BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza said the ITRs, which were covered by a subpoena issued by the House panel, may only be disclosed when the request is in aid of legislation and must be examined in an executive session, not in a public hearing attended by media.
Aside from the billions worth of money involving their bank transactions, the same AMLC report revealed that some of those were covered and suspicious.
Under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, a covered transaction refers to a cash or equivalent monetary transaction exceeding P500,000 within one banking day.
The law also defines suspicious transactions as dealings with covered institutions—regardless of amount—where there are indicators such as:
Aside from the Carpio filing before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office, there are also three petitions seeking to stop the House impeachment proceedings lodged before the Supreme Court. —KG, GMA News
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