House panel to adopt, send VP Sara impeachment report to plenary on May 4

The House Committee on Justice is expected to adopt its committee report finding probable cause to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, May 4. 

Along with the adoption of the committee report, the House panel is also set to adopt the corresponding resolution and Articles of Impeachment, which will be all transmitted to the plenary for consideration. 

“This Committee has completed its constitutional duty to determine probable cause based on the evidence presented. On Monday, we will formally adopt the committee report and the corresponding resolution and Articles of Impeachment and transmit them to the plenary for the consideration of the entire House,” said House Justice panel chairperson Gerville Luistro in a statement. 

With unanimous 53-0 votes, the House Committee on Justice earlier found probable cause to impeach Duterte based on two impeachment complaints filed against her.

Duterte never showed up in the four hearings conducted to defend herself from the allegations raised against her. 

“This is not about politics. This is about the Constitution, about evidence, and about our duty to uphold public accountability. The House will now act as one body on this matter,” said Luistro.

The committee report and resolution will be transmitted to the plenary for consideration. 

If approved by at least one-third of all House members, the Articles of Impeachment will be sent to the Senate, which will convene as an impeachment court.  

‘Tip of the iceberg’ 

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union suggested that the ₱6.7 billion in bank transactions flagged by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) regarding Duterte might just be the "tip of the iceberg."

Ortega pointed out that the figure flagged by the AMLC does not include a potentially significant volume of smaller deposits and transfers that fall outside mandatory reporting rules. 

“Kung nagugulat tayo sa P6.7 billion, we should understand this is not the full amount—ito ‘yung nakita lang ng AMLC under its limited scope. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Ortega said. 

(If we find the ₱6.7 billion shocking, we must realize that this isn't the total sum—this is only what the AMLC identified within its restricted scope. This is just the tip of the iceberg.) 

“This is not a definitive total. It only reflects what the system is designed to capture. At kung ganito na kalaki ang lumalabas sa limited reporting, it is reasonable to ask how much more is outside that net,” he added. 

Based on the AMLC’s report, of the total amount, P3.7 billion was attributed to the Vice President, while P2.998 billion was linked to Carpio.

The report also identified P791 million in transactions as having undetermined inflows and outflows.

The AMLC added that transactions involving other parties’ accounts—where Vice President Sara was identified as beneficiary and/or counterparty—comprised 15 large transactions and one suspicious transaction from June 20, 2006 to April 2, 2025, with amounts reaching up to P7.44 million. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA News