Luistro: Duterte answer to impeachment complaints ‘not responsive’

Chairperson of the House Committee on Justice and Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro said the response submitted by Vice President Sara Duterte was not responsive to the grounds cited in the impeachment complaints against her.

“Well, apparently for me, it doesn’t seem like an answer. While I was reading the answer, it looked like a motion to dismiss. It is clear in the rules on impeachment of the House of Representatives that a motion to dismiss is a prohibited pleading in impeachment proceedings,” she said in a radio interview on Tuesday morning.

Luistro explained that Duterte’s camp questioned the need for proceedings at the justice committee instead of addressing the issues raised in the complaints filed by members of the clergy and lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera.

Asked about the claims of the Vice President’s defense counsel that the complaints lacked details from the start, Luistro said the committee’s vote already proved that the cases were sufficient both in form and in substance.

“We respect the opinion of the camp of the Vice President, but of course we’ve been very cautious in complying with our rules. The members voted, and we have to understand that in matters of sufficiency in form and substance, the ruling in Merceditas Gutierrez dictates that this is based on the exclusive judgment of individual members,” she said.

Last 5 March, both complaints were deemed sufficient to proceed with the impeachment process after the House Committee on Justice voted 54–1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Quezon City 4th District Rep. Bong Suntay.

Luistro said the response filed by the Vice President was a missed opportunity to address issues raised against her, including allegations involving the use of confidential funds and matters related to her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).

She added that the committee will discuss preliminary matters on Wednesday, 18 March, regarding the Vice President’s answer and other issues related to the hearings.

One of the concerns previously raised before the justice committee was the appearance of lawyers Michael Wesley Poa and Reynold Munsayac as part of Duterte’s legal team, given their previous roles in the Department of Education and the Office of the Vice President.

“If there are concerns from justice committee members about the entry of appearance of Atty. Poa and Atty. Munsayac, it must be discussed this Wednesday so that, when it comes to the determination of sufficiency in grounds, we can proceed to the hearing proper,” she said.