Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union on Monday expressed confidence the House Committee on Justice would not be swayed by political pressure, as long as the facts are clearly laid out and properly debated in the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Well, you saw how Congresswoman Jinky Luistro handled the committee before. I don’t think the committee will be influenced, scared, or intimidated as long as the important facts are presented and discussed. Everything will go through the committee level, with due diligence and proper questioning,” Ortega said.
The young solon said he is confident the fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte will survive committee-level scrutiny, pointing out that a thorough deliberation process allows lawmakers to engage fully and ensures due diligence.
“I’m even more confident now because it will be examined at the committee level. There will be more discussions, more debate and different legislators can share their views. So I’m confident the vote will go through,” Ortega said in an interview.
The latest impeachment complaint, filed last Wednesday in the House of Representatives, alleges that Duterte failed to fully disclose assets in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) and may have accumulated unexplained wealth disproportionate to her lawful income.
The verified complaint, filed by Atty. Nathaniel G. Cabrera and endorsed by Ortega and House Committee on Human Rights chair Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila, was formally received by House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil.
It accuses Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery and other high crimes, focusing on alleged omissions, understatements and incomplete disclosures of assets, bank accounts, cash holdings and property transactions in her SALNs.
Ortega said that moving the complaint through the committee is the proper route, particularly given past legal questions surrounding previous filings.
On Monday, the House formally referred four verified impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Committee on Justice, effectively triggering the one-year bar on filing a similar complaint. Deputy Speaker Ferjenel Biron of Iloilo presided over the session.
The complaints come from several groups. The first, filed by the Makabayan Coalition and endorsed by partylist reps Antonio Tinio, Sarah Jane Elago (Gabriela) and Renee Co (Kabataan), includes activists, former lawmakers and legal practitioners such as Francisca Castro, Liza Maza and Atty. Neri Colmenares, among others. The second, filed by progressive organizations and civil society groups, was endorsed by Leila de Lima (Mamamayang Liberal) and Perci Cendaña (Akbayan), with petitioners including Francis Joseph Aquino Dee, Teresita Quintos Deles and Eugene Gonzales. The third complaint was filed by private citizens, including members of the clergy, civil society leaders and lawyers, such as Rev. Fr. Joel Saballa, Pastor Leonard Arevalo and Atty. Jalilo dela Torre.
With all four complaints now pending, the House will determine whether the allegations meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment under Article XI of the 1987 Constitution, which allows removal for culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.