Vice President Sara Duterte has received an invitation from the House committee on justice to attend its March 25 hearing on impeachment complaints filed against her, her counsel confirmed. The invitation calls for her personal attendance at the Quezon City event. It remains unclear if she will attend.
Michael Poa, spokesman for Vice President Sara Duterte’s 16-member defense team, confirmed receipt of the invitation the previous day. “Yes, the invitation was received yesterday,” Poa said. The March 19 letter from committee chair Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro formally invited Duterte to attend in person the 10 a.m. hearing on March 25 at the People’s Center Building in the House of Representatives, Quezon City. The session will discuss ground rules and hold an initial hearing on the complaints, which accuse Duterte of betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution. The complaints come from Fr. Joel Saballa, endorsed by Rep. Leila de Lima, and lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera, endorsed by Reps. Bienvenido Abante Jr. and Paolo Ortega V. The committee will also address pending motions, possible subpoenas, and identification of resource persons and witnesses for hearings scheduled on April 14, 22, and 29. Poa did not confirm Duterte’s attendance. “Our dilemma is how do we rebut if we cannot even cross-examine the witnesses the complainants will be presenting to test the credibility of their testimonies,” he said in a television interview. Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua noted the proceedings could mark the first full public presentation of evidence related to the complaints. House leaders denied bribery allegations from Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco claiming lawmakers were promised funding allocations for supporting the impeachment. “Ano daw kapalit? Wala akong alam na kapalit…I’ve been working on this… to come up with an orderly proceeding, an organized proceeding, and of course a decision which will be acceptable to the people,” Luistro said in a joint statement with Chua.
