The House Committee on Justice approved Wednesday the issuance of subpoenas against several individuals and offices in connection with ongoing impeachment proceedings involving Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a hearing held on Wednesday, March 25, the committee approved a subpoena ad testificandum for former Department of Education (DepEd) Chief of Staff from 2022–2023, Atty. Michael Poa, who is now part of Duterte’s defense team.
The committee also approved the motion of Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima to issue a subpoena duces tecum for the affidavit of Ramil Madriaga, a self-confessed aide and bagman of the Vice President, and for Cynthia Viñas-Pantonal, the lawyer who notarized Madriaga’s affidavit.
Madriaga had previously asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Duterte for alleged corrupt activities, claiming he was responsible for “transporting large amounts of money to several persons” as instructed by the Vice President.
The motions were passed with votes of 29-1-0 for Madriaga and 30-1-0 for Pantonal.
Additionally, the committee voted to compel Atty. Gloria Camora, team leader of the Commission on Audit (COA) Intelligence and Confidential Funds Audit Office, to attend the proceedings and submit documents related to confidential expenses of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd for 2022 and 2023.
The motion was approved by a 29-1-0 vote.
Subpoenas were also approved for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to provide records from its probe into threats allegedly made by the Vice President against President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez.
The committee further directed the Office of the Ombudsman to submit copies of Duterte’s Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) along with other relevant documents. The legislative library archives division was ordered to produce transcripts and recordings from the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability hearings concerning Duterte’s alleged misuse of funds.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or its representative was instructed to provide original certifications verifying live births, marriages, and deaths referenced in OVP and DepEd liquidation reports for confidential funds.
