MANILA – The House impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte are now entering what lawmakers describe as a “forensic truth” phase, where documentary evidence takes center stage over witness testimony.
Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, chair of the House Committee on Justice, said Wednesday that the inquiry is shifting its focus to financial records, including SALNs, tax documents from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
According to Luistro, the hearings will rely more heavily on official records from oversight agencies such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the AMLC, marking a transition from testimonial hearings to document-based scrutiny.
She said the committee’s task now is to examine possible inconsistencies in the Vice President’s financial declarations by placing multiple records side by side for comparison and analysis.
At this stage, Luistro said, the process is less about competing statements and more about what the documents reveal.
“Numbers don’t carry intent, and they don’t change meaning depending on who presents them,” she said, underscoring the committee’s reliance on financial data rather than narrative arguments.
She added that the SALN, tax records, and AMLC findings will be assessed collectively to determine whether they align or conflict.
Luistro emphasized that the inquiry concerns public funds and the obligation of public officials to ensure transparency in their financial declarations.
She also noted that even in the absence of direct testimony from the Vice President, documentary evidence alone could establish the factual basis needed by the panel.
The committee, she said, will remain focused strictly on evidence and avoid being influenced by outside commentary.
“We will follow the records wherever they lead,” Luistro said. “Let the evidence speak for itself.”
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