Financial documents belonging to Vice President Sara Duterte took center stage at the House justice committee on Wednesday, even as Duterte herself was absent from the proceedings for another session.
Committee chair Gerville Luistro of Batangas flagged the absence during roll call. “It appears that the Vice President is still not present in our hearing,” she told members of the 39-member panel.
The documents under review include Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, tax filings, and business records — part of an effort to determine whether the wealth she reported matches what she actually accumulated. The inquiry centers on allegations that she enriched herself beyond her declared income.
At the heart of the impeachment drive are accusations that Duterte misused hundreds of millions of pesos in confidential funds drawn from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, where she previously served as secretary. Lawmakers are also weighing claims that she plotted to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the first lady, and a former House speaker, and that she worked to destabilize the government.
Duterte’s camp has not engaged with the hearings directly. Her defense lawyer and spokesman Michael Poa did not respond to a request for comment on her continued absence.
The Vice President has publicly dismissed the proceedings as constitutionally defective. In March, she formally asked the committee to drop all charges, arguing that the complaints lacked evidence, rested on speculation, and recycled accusations already raised in a prior impeachment attempt last year.
The current hearings are now in the merit-evaluation phase, assessing whether the complaints are strong enough to be put to a full House vote.
