DAVAO City First District Representative Paolo "Pulong" Duterte has challenged the House prosecution panel's move to obtain additional financial documents in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, arguing that the request raises questions about whether the impeachment complaint was backed by sufficient evidence before it was transmitted to the Senate.
In a statement released July 20, Duterte criticized the prosecution panel for requesting subpoenas for documents that he claimed had already been submitted to government authorities during earlier stages of the impeachment proceedings.
"Nalingaw gyud ko sa House Prosecution Panel (I really enjoyed the House Prosecution Panel)," Duterte said.
His remarks came after the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, granted the House prosecution panel's request to issue subpoenas for Vice President Sara Duterte's bank records, income tax returns, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) records, and other financial documents, despite objections from the Vice President's defense team. The prosecution argued that the records are material to allegations involving unexplained wealth and the alleged misuse of confidential funds, while the defense maintained that the subpoenas were unnecessary and violated constitutional and statutory protections on confidential financial records.
Duterte questioned why prosecutors were only now requesting documents that, according to him, had long been available during the House impeachment proceedings.
"So unsa man gyud? Nawala? Nahikalimtan? O karon pa ninyo na-realize nga kinahanglan diay na (So what is it really? Was it lost? Forgotten? Or did you only realize now that you actually needed it)?" he said, referring to the Vice President's income tax returns that had earlier been produced before the House Committee on Justice but remained sealed because of taxpayer confidentiality laws.
During the House impeachment hearings in April, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) presented the Vice President's tax records in a sealed box after complying with a subpoena. However, the House Committee on Justice voted not to open the documents, citing confidentiality provisions under the National Internal Revenue Code, and instead left the matter for the Senate impeachment court to decide should the case proceed to trial. The records were later returned to the BIR after the House proceedings concluded.
Rep. Duterte argued that the House prosecution panel should have already completed its evidence before endorsing the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate.
"Abi nako pag giaprubahan ninyo ang Articles of Impeachment, kumpleto na ang inyong ebidensya. Mao man unta na ang pasabot sa form and substance. Dili kay 'approve sa ta, unya mangita lang ta'g supporting documents human (I thought that when you approved the Articles of Impeachment, you already had complete evidence. That is what ‘form and substance’ should mean. It shouldn’t be, ‘Let’s approve it first, then we’ll just look for supporting documents afterward),'" he said.
He added that requesting subpoenas after the impeachment complaint had already been approved suggests that prosecutors are still building their case rather than presenting evidence already gathered.
"Kung karon pa mo nangita og ebidensya pinaagi sa subpoena, murag ang proseso ninyo kay step 1: Impeach; step 2: Pangitaa ang ebidensya; step 3: Sana adunay mogawas (If you are only now looking for evidence through subpoenas, it seems like your process is: Step 1, impeach; Step 2, look for evidence; Step 3, hope something turns up)," Duterte said.
He further described the process as a "fishing expedition," saying impeachment should not be used to search for evidence after charges have already been filed.
"Ang impeachment dili raffle draw. Dili pud ni fishing expedition nga bahala'g unsay masangit sa pukot. Kung seryoso mo sa inyong giakusahan, dapat sa pagsugod pa lang kumpleto na ang inyong kaso (Impeachment is not a raffle draw. Nor is it a fishing expedition where you cast a net and take whatever gets caught. If you are serious about the allegations you are making, your case should already be complete from the very beginning)," he added.
The congressman likewise questioned the consistency of the House prosecution panel, noting that the committee had earlier declined to unseal the tax records during its own hearings but is now seeking access to the same documents before the Senate impeachment court.
He also said that the impeachment case disregards the mandate given to Vice President Duterte by more than 32 million Filipinos who voted for her in the 2022 elections.
Duterte further compared the impeachment proceedings with investigations into alleged irregularities in the government’s flood control projects, arguing that authorities have moved more aggressively against the Vice President despite corruption cases related to flood control projects still undergoing investigation.
The House Committee on Justice found probable cause to impeach Vice President Duterte after a series of hearings earlier this year and approved the Articles of Impeachment, which were subsequently endorsed by the House and transmitted to the Senate for trial. The charges include allegations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential funds, and other offenses, all of which the Vice President has repeatedly denied, describing the impeachment case as politically motivated. DEF
