MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives Committee on Justice will start the hearing proper on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday.
The committee will convene at 10 a.m. at the People Center where it will lay down ground rules and resolve motions.
"If the complainants are ready, we can actually proceed to presentation of evidence and witnesses," said Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, the committee chairman.
The hearing proper, which will determine whether there is probable cause to impeach Duterte, comes after the two impeachment complaints filed against Duterte were found to be sufficient in form, substance and grounds..
The third impeachment complaint filed by priests and others alleged, among others, that Duterte committed culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayed public trust in connection with confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2022 and 2023 and confidential funds allocated in 2023 to the Department of Education (DepEd) when Duterte was appointed secretary before resigning in 2024.
The third complaint also alleged that Duterte committed culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayed public trust and committed high crimes "in contracting to murder or assassinate" President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. The complaint cited a Nov. 23, 2024 briefing with the media wherein she said, "[...] may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez."
Duterte has denied making an assassination threat to Marcos.
The fourth impeachment complaint was filed on Feb. 18, 2026 by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera.
This complaint alleged that Duterte "committed acts that constitute culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes, by publicly admitting the contracting of an assassin".
The same complaint alleged that she "betrayed the public trust and committed acts of graft and corruption by grossly abusing discretionary authority over confidential funds appropriated to the" OVP and DepEd.
Duterte countered that the complaints must be dismissed.
As to the allegations that she committed plunder through malversation, malversation, graft and corruption, and technical malversation in relation to confidential funds of the OVP and DepEd, Duterte said these "cannot withstand serious scrutiny." It read, "Since these imputations do not rest on any established facts or final findings of a competent tribunal or court, they remain mere conclusions at best."
Duterte also said the complaints failed to show "any shred of proof" that a contract to kill ever existed. "Instead, complainants rely on exaggerated conclusions dressed up as fact", it read.
Duterte said the complaints did not allege the "ultimate facts necessary to sustain the charges."
Cabrera rejected Duterte's response. Lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan said the answer "conspicuously failed to specifically deny each and every material allegation in the" third complaint. Ligutan said there was an "obvious conflation of what is otherwise a clear and basic distinction between ultimate facts, on one hand, and evidentiary facts, on the other hand".