House justice panel declares 2 impeachment raps vs VP Duterte sufficient in substance

By Nash Villena, Philippine Canadian Inquirer
March 4, 2026

(Screengrab from House of Representatives)

MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Justice on Wednesday declared the third and fourth impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte sufficient in substance.

The justice panel voted 54-1, with no abstentions, on both the Saballa et al. complaint endorsed by Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima and the Cabrera complaint endorsed by La Union 1st District Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, Jr.

The vice president has been given 10 calendar days to respond to the notice issued by the justice committee in response to her two impeachment complaints.

Before the committee members cast their votes, House Senior Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez made a manifestation stressing that today’s voting does not mean the vice president is guilty.

“It is important to clarify for the public what this vote means, and equally important, what it does not mean,” Hernandez said.

“Our vote on the sufficiency in substance of the impeachment complaints is not a determination of guilt or innocence on the part of the vice president. We are not conducting a trial today, nor are we rendering a judgment on the allegations contained in the complaints,” he added.

He affirmed that the committee’s Constitutional mandate is merely to evaluate and determine the sufficiency in form and substance of the impeachment complaints, and should they warrant the continuation of the impeachment process.

The grounds of the two complaints generally cite the vice president’s culpable violations of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.