Duterte lawyers dismiss SALN subpoena as 'irrelevant'

The impeachment investigation against Vice President Sara Duterte has entered a contentious phase, as her legal team dismissed a key subpoena requiring decades of her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), calling it “irrelevant” to the case.

The House Committee on Justice had asked the Office of the Ombudsman to produce Duterte’s SALNs from 2007 to 2024, covering her time as vice mayor and mayor of Davao City, as well as her current role as Vice President. 

“Kung gano’n, very clear naman sa ating Supreme Court decision na ang impeachable offense … must be committed in relation to their office and during the current term,”
Duterte’s spokesperson, Atty. Michael Poa, said in a television interview.

“So para sa atin, ‘yung 2007 onwards, ‘yung mayor pa siya or vice mayor, that is irrelevant already,” he added. 

In outlining the due process for impeachment cases, the Supreme Court has clarified that charges must stem from actions or omissions that are directly related to the official duties of the impeachable officer and committed during their current term.

However, for the President and Vice President, the Court emphasized that such acts must be serious enough to qualify as the crimes listed in Article XI, Section 2 of the Constitution, or constitute a betrayal of public trust entrusted by the electorate.

Poa further argued that it is the House’s role to establish probable cause, not to act as a court and conduct a trial themselves.

“Our position is … to determine probable cause. You have to just look at the complaints, the allegations stated therein, and the attached evidence. Going beyond that, that’s no longer just simply determination of probable cause,” he said.

Duterte previously faced multiple impeachment complaints in 2025, alleging betrayal of public trust, misuse of funds, and incomplete asset declarations. 

But earlier efforts stalled when the Supreme Court ruled some procedures unconstitutional, citing a one‑year bar on refiling.