Manila: Lawyer Lorna Kapunan said she believes that the House of Representatives Committee on Justice has seen and heard enough - from the discrepancies in Vice President Sara Duterte's declared net worth to the flagged bank transactions - to find probable cause to impeach her.
According to Philippines News Agency, the veteran litigator emphasized that the House Committee on Justice has already achieved its goal to demonstrate probable cause, indicating that a crime and a violation of law were committed, with the Vice President likely guilty thereof. Kapunan clarified that this is not equivalent to guilt beyond reasonable doubt, in a radio interview on Friday.
Kapunan warned the public against being influenced by the Vice President's press releases, her defense team, or online trolls attempting to discredit the findings of non-disclosure in Duterte's Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council's (AMLC) report. "No spin can change what is already on official record," she asserted.
She further advised, "With all the evidence, follow the numbers. Don't believe the press releases, trolls, and statements outside the Committee on Justice. Believe in the numbers. Let the numbers speak for themselves." Kapunan pointed out that the evidence presented are official records from government agencies: the Office of the Ombudsman for the SALNs; AMLC's reporting on suspicious and covered transactions; and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning the companies of the Vice President and her husband, Manases Carpio.
The documents, she claimed, raise significant questions that cannot be disregarded. "These are records; they don't lie. When speaking of litigation, there is already the presence of hard evidence, documentary from official sources. This is not opinion, this is not hearsay. These are documents," Kapunan stated.
During the April 22 hearing, committee members discovered a more than elevenfold increase in Duterte's net worth, from PHP7.2 million in 2007 to PHP88.4 million in 2024. Despite this significant rise, it was also found that she had not reported her cash on hand and bank deposits under personal assets in her SALNs from 2019 to 2024.
Meanwhile, the AMLC informed the justice panel that over 600 transactions amounting to PHP6.7 billion from Duterte and her husband's bank accounts were flagged as covered or suspicious from 2006 to 2025. The AMLC also verified that 19 of the bank transaction entries presented by former Senator Antonio 'Sonny' Trillanes IV matched its records on the same dates and amounts, including the PHP22 million Duterte allegedly received from Samuel 'Sammy' Uy, a purported drug lord and close business associate of the Duterte family.
Kapunan also noted that the Committee on Justice has provided the Vice President ample opportunity to respond to the allegations and defend herself. However, the defense team filed a non-answer, and Duterte continues to avoid the hearings. She stressed that Duterte cannot use jurisdictional arguments to evade attending the hearings, pointing out that the Constitution grants the House the authority to initiate impeachment proceedings.
Furthermore, she highlighted that the hearings are clarificatory rather than evidentiary, indicating that the Committee on Justice is examining the facts cited in the impeachment complaints and allowing the respondent the chance to be heard before making a ruling on probable cause. Duterte's defense team cannot claim to be "surprised" by the evidence and testimonies being examined, as all hearings are televised and subpoenas are publicly issued.
The Committee on Justice is scheduled to hold its final hearing on April 29, where the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will present its findings on the alleged death threats Duterte made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. The panel will then vote on whether probable cause exists for each allegation in the impeachment complaints.
