Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team said on Wednesday that they were not surprised that the House Justice Committee found probable cause in the impeachment complaints against her, paving the way for the case’s elevation to the Senate.

“The finding of probable cause by the House Committee on Justice was not unexpected, given the direction the proceedings had taken,” they said in a statement.

Duterte’s legal team asserted that the committee hearings did not adhere to the Constitution, having allegedly covered matters reserved for the Senate trial.

“We respectfully maintain that the proceedings before the Committee departed from the constitutional design,” they said.

“Instead of confining itself to the verified complaints and their attachments, the process expanded into matters that properly belong to a full trial,” they concluded.

In a unanimous vote, all 53 members of the justice panel backed the motion affirming the existence of probable cause in the impeachment complaints against Duterte.

On April 22, the justice panel examined the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) report on Duterte and her husband, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio’s covered and suspicious bank transactions from 2006 to 2025, which amounted to ₱6.77 billion.

Moreover, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) turned over a sealed box of documents containing bureau records linked to Duterte and Carpio, although Commissioner Charlito Mendoza asserted that it would be unlawful to reveal its contents.