Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro believes Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team has practically conceded her imminent impeachment in the House of Representatives.
Luistro, chairperson of the House Committee on Justice, said the Vice President’s lawyers are already preparing for the Senate impeachment trial.
By announcing they will only respond to allegations during the Senate proceedings, the defense team is effectively acknowledging that the committee will vote to establish probable cause—a view shared by several members even before the April 29 hearing.
“It appears to me, doon sa kanilang press con, they are acknowledging already that this will be reaching a trial. Kasi they’re claiming an opportunity to scrutinize, they’re claiming an opportunity to cross-examine dahil kulang at malabo pa daw,” Luistro said in an interview.
“It seems to me that they are joining the position of the justice committee that trial is really necessary. But that will happen, of course, after the determination of probable cause,” she added.
Luistro reiterated that the threshold for probable cause is low, requiring only sufficient justification to proceed to trial, not a finding of guilt.
She cited the Commission on Audit’s (COA) notices of disallowance on ₱73 million in OVP confidential funds in 2022 as enough to meet that threshold.
COA also disclosed notices on an additional ₱375 million spent in 2023, which could bring total restitution to ₱448 million if finalized.
On the charge of unexplained wealth, Luistro pointed to the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) report flagging nearly ₱6.8 billion in transactions from 2006 to 2025 that were not reflected in Duterte’s SALNs.
Duterte’s lawyers argued that her cash and bank deposits were declared under the vague line item “others.”
For Luistro, this only reinforces the need for trial. (Ellson Quismorio)
