House panel to rule on Sara impeachment complaints

The House of Representatives Committee on Justice is poised to decide on the sufficiency in substance of two impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte as it convenes for its second day of hearings.

Batangas 4th District Rep. Gerville Luistro, chair of the panel, said the committee is duty-bound to thoroughly scrutinize the complaints and determine whether the allegations have enough basis to proceed.

“Our mandate is to examine the evidence and the law,” Luistro said in her opening statement, emphasizing that the panel’s decision must be anchored on facts and documents, not speculation.

Without naming anyone, Luistro appeared to rebuke a fellow lawmaker for allegedly pre-empting the outcome of the hearings. The remarks were widely seen as directed at SAGIP Party-list Rep. Paolo Henry Marcoleta.

Under House rules, impeachment complaints must first be found sufficient in form and substance before the committee can move on to tackle the merits of the case. Luistro noted that the third complaint spans 98 pages, while the fourth runs 72 pages.

If the complaints pass the sufficiency stage, the panel will proceed to hearings on probable cause before transmitting approved articles of impeachment to the plenary.

A verified complaint endorsed by at least one-third of House members may be transmitted directly to the Senate for trial.

Vice President Duterte has yet to publicly address the latest proceedings in detail. Previous complaints filed against her have cited various allegations, which she and her allies have denied.

Anti-dynasty bill advances

In a separate development, the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms approved at the committee level a proposed Anti-Political Dynasty measure.

Lawmakers adopted the version backed by House Speaker Faustino Dy III and House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, which seeks to prohibit political dynasties up to the second degree of consanguinity.

The bill was approved with 40 votes in favor and four against.

The proposed measure aims to operationalize the constitutional provision banning political dynasties “as may be defined by law,” a mandate that has remained unimplemented since the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.