House Committee on Justice Issues Subpoena to Ombudsman for Sara Duterte’s SALN from 2007
OMBUDSMAN – The Office confirmed that it will provide the House panel with the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of Vice President Sara Duterte for the impeachment process.
Two impeachment complaints filed against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte were found sufficient in grounds. The House Committee on Justice immediately set the dates for the hearings following the ruling.
March 25 was set as the first hearing on the impeachment case against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. The panel invited both Duterte and her camp as well as the complainants. The third and the fourth impeachment raps were the ones that made it pass the committee’s scrutiny in terms of form, substance, and grounds.
Tindig Pilipinas previously withdrew its impeachment complaint to support the third impeachment rap filed against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. According to the group, the move was to avoid the procedural delays.
In the third impeachment complaint filed against Duterte, the following grounds were raised by the complainants:
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount over PHP 500 million confidential funds (CF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President from 2022 to 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount of not less than PHP 112.5 million of confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the year 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by corrupting and bribing officials of the DepEd
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in contracting to murder or assassinate the president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in amassing unexplained wealth and failing to disclose all her properties and interests in properties in her SALN
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in committing acts of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection
However, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte skipped the March 25 hearing of the impeachment complaint against her. According to her legal team’s spokesman, Atty. Michael Poa, the Vice President is not required to personally attend the hearing.
Based on a report on One News, the House Justice panel issued a subpoena to the Office of the Ombudsman seeking for the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth or SALN of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte from 2007. Recently, the Office responded to the matter.
According to Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, the Office already gave public access to the SALN of the government officials that are within its custody. Previously, when Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla” was appointed to the position, one of his first tasks was to open the SALN of the government officials to the public.
Based on the report, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla stressed during a press interview that releasing the document sought by the House Justice panel is supposedly part of the legal process. He stressed that the Office must abide by the proceedings.
“It’s part of the constitutional process that we have. It’s part of the legal process. We just abide by the rules and the law when it comes to impeachment proceedings. We will follow the law,” the Ombudsman said.
The request of the House Justice panel includes the SALN of the Vice President from the time that she served as mayor and vice mayor of Davao City until prior her election as vice president. Amid the House committee’s legal proceedings, the camp of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte believes that the Senate is the “proper forum” to discuss the impeachment complaints.