HAPPENING NOW: House Justice Committee resumes VP Duterte impeachment hearing — ANC

[0:06] today is april 22 2026 the hearing of the committee on justice is hereby called to order [0:20] may i solicit the motion to dispense with the calling of the role madam chair the honorable [0:26] keith flores but i'm sure i move to dispense with the calling of the role there is a motion to [0:31] dispense with the calling of the role is there any second any objection hearing none the motion [0:38] is approved may i solicit the motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and for the [0:44] approval of the same one of the year the honorable keith flores i move to dispense with the reading [0:50] of the minutes of the previous meeting and to approve the same madam chair there is a motion to [0:54] dispense with the reading of the minutes of the last hearing including the approval of the same [0:59] do i hear a second the same has been seconded is there any objection hearing none the motion is [1:06] approved the chair will address the committee magandang umaga sa ating lahat good morning good morning [1:31] before anything else it is important that we begin by looking back because the work we have today is [1:43] anchored on what has already been laid on record noong nakaraang pagdinig april 14 we begin by affirming our [1:57] constitutional mandate our exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment nasa atin ang [2:08] unang galaw nasa atin ang direksyon at hawak natin ang beat ngunit nabanggit din natin na malinaw ang limitasyon [2:25] ng ating papel sa yugtong ito hindi pa ito paghuhusga our task at this stage [2:37] is simply to determine probable cause kung may sapat na batayan upang magpatuloy as congressman [2:51] benny abante stated sisilipin natin kung may usok dahil kung may usok tungkulin nating hanapin [3:03] kung nasaan ang sunog during our last hearing we formally recognized the complainants father sabalia [3:16] and his group and of course attorney cabrera all of them were present ready to face this committee [3:28] and stand by their complaints but there was one thing we could not ignore something that was right in [3:44] front of us the empty chair of the vice president wala po siya nitong nakaraan habang nandito ang [3:58] mga nagre-reklamo ang tanging humarap sa atin ay isang bakanting upuan and yet with or without the presence of the [4:12] vice president with or without her cooperation tuloy ang mandato ng kumite at umusad nga ang ating [4:26] pagdinig noong araw na iyon first we formally received sabina documents all of which are now part of our [4:40] record second we heard a statement of ramil madriaga who testified for the very first time in a public [4:54] hearing through his supplemental affidavit we were confronted with a staggering allegation that [5:05] confidential funds were spent not just in 11 days but were purportedly disposed of within a mere [5:18] 24 hours hindi labing isang araw sa halip 24 oras milyones na naubos sa loob lamang ng isang araw mabigat [5:36] ang mga binitiwang salita ni ramil madriaga at minsan pa siyang naiyak habang binabasa ang [5:48] kanyang supplemental affidavit to back his words he signed a bank waiver to prove that he has nothing [6:01] to hide during one exchange congresswoman janet garin recalled the formerly controversy and could not [6:13] hide her frustration upon hearing ramil madriaga's allegation that the vice president's campaign may [6:24] have been financed by formally an assertion that if proven further deepens the seriousness of the issues [6:36] now before this committee third and with the help of congressman joel chua we have adopted the records [6:49] from the committee on good government and public accountability that testimonies of various [6:57] resource persons regarding the envelopes and the questionable receipts and other statements given [7:08] in that legislative inquiry are now officially part of this impeachment process fourth we heard from the [7:21] cnbi expert and their findings are very clear kinumpirma nila na base sa kanilang pagsusuri several [7:34] question signatures were actually signed by one and the same person this proves that there was a pattern and it [7:48] raises even more questions about who was really behind these documents magkakaibah ang mga pangalan [8:00] ngunit iisa ang perma i will repeat magkakaibah ang mga pangalan ngunit iisa ang perma fifth we heard from a [8:16] representative of the representative of the psa who confirmed that several personalities appearing in the [8:24] records have no corresponding entries in official civil registries kabilang dito ang kontrobersyal na pangalan [8:37] mary grace piatoss na batay sa kanilang verifikasyon ay walang umiiral na psa record si mary grace piatoss ay wala sa data [8:53] ng psa sixth we heard from attorney gloria camora of the koa who confirmed that the commission proper has [9:05] resolved the vice president's appeal on the notice of this allowance effectively affirming that this allowance [9:15] covering more than 73 million pesos she further disclosed that the koa has issued [9:26] three additional notices of this allowance indicating continued deficiencies in compliance this [9:37] developments lend significant weight to the financial irregularities under examination as noted by congressman [9:50] chel jocno and congressman antonio tino this effectively render the vice president liable to return all this [10:03] amounts 73 million pesos plus 375 million pesos to the national treasury ang vice presidente [10:17] ay may pananagutan na ibalik ang 73 million plus 375 million total of 448 million [10:30] sa ating national treasury and when we heard all this resource persons the committee will note that while i [10:43] disallowed certain probing questions to ensure fairness i nonetheless permitted all inquiries that sought to clarify the truth [10:57] on that note the records will reflect that the arguments regarding the difference between credibility and [11:07] character as well as the confusion between page numbers and dates were stricken from the record we have done [11:18] this to maintain the integrity and order of this proceedings sa kabuan what we saw was not a single piece of [11:31] evidence but a body of evidence but a body of evidence hindi pa isa isa kundi magkakaugnay but after the hearing [11:46] the story did not end there sa katunayan doon pa lamang nagsimula ang mas malakas na ingay sa labas marami [11:59] marami ang nagulantang marami ang nagreak the hearing became the subject of headlines discussions [12:10] statements particularly from the vice president however it is worth noting that instead of addressing the core [12:24] issues the focus shifted to a peripheral matter ang academic performance umano [12:34] vice president noong vice president nung siya'y nag-aaral pa samantalang ang mas mabibigat na usapin [12:44] tungkol sa confidential funds sa mga dokumento sa mga transaksyon ay nananatiling hindi [12:57] direct ang nasasagot kumbaga sa isan daang ebidensya isa lang ang pinupunteriya let me be clear this [13:11] committee will not take anything at face value whether said inside this hall or outside of it hindi tayo [13:23] basta maniniwala sa ingay we will evaluate everything dahil ang katotohanan ay hindi matatagpuan sa mga press [13:36] release ito ay nakasandal sa mga dokumento at sa mga salaysay na sinumpaan sa totoo lang na [13:48] ghost na nga tayo tila ginagas light pa tayo ang mas mahalagang tanong ay kung nasaan ang pera [14:00] ngunit ang sagot sa atin ay tungkol sagrado sa kolehyo and the worst part this explanation is not being made here [14:14] but everywhere else ang gusto natin ay testimonya sa inalim ng sumpa pero ang ibinibigay sa atin press release at content [14:30] sa social media again let us be clear hindi tayo basta maniniwala we will evaluate everything [14:43] madriagas testimony coa documents nbi findings psa certifications lahat ng ito ay kailangan [14:57] iharap dito suriin dito timbangin dito pero dapat dito humarap ang kailangan humarap manumpa [15:14] at magpaliwanag dito sa committing ito because this is the proper forum hindi sapat ang magsalita sa labas [15:33] if there's anything to clarify the best and the only place to do that is here before this committee [15:47] under oath and on record and that brings us to today ngayong april 22 malinaw the work of this committee continues [16:07] ang mga isyong inilahad ay hindi natapos noong nakaraan [16:12] today we expect further evidence from the office of the ombudsman from the bureau of internal revenue from the [16:24] securities and exchange commission and specially from the anti-money laundering council [16:31] we also anticipate testimonies that will help contextualize the data before us and that includes from [16:42] former senator sunny trillanes kung mapapansin ninyo ang pag-uusapan natin ngayon mga numero salen [16:55] tax records from BIR reports from AMLC this is the part where the numbers have to be studied compared [17:08] analyzed and numbers take note unlike people numbers do not have motives numbers do not lie again numbers do not lie [17:29] at dito po nagiging mas mabigat ang usapan because when we speak of numbers we are no longer dealing with opinion [17:42] spin or even narrative we are confronting cold and yielding facts hindi ito napapakiusapan hindi ito natatakot hindi ito napipilit magsinungaling a number [18:06] either matches or it does not at higit sa lahat hindi po ito basta numero lamang pera ito ng taong bayan [18:22] pera ito ng manggagawang pilipino na araw-araw kumakayod ng pamilyang nagtitipid para makabayad ng buwis [18:34] ng bawat pilipinong umaasa na ang kanilang ambag ay napupunta sa tama a peso is either accounted for or it is missing [18:53] at kapag pinagsama sama ang mga numerong ito mula sa salen bir amlc they begin to tell a story [19:09] which no press conference can rewrite no diversion can erase because numbers once laid bare speak with a clarity that cuts through noise [19:28] and when they point to a discrepancy they do not whisper they demand to be answered [19:41] kung ayaw magsalita ng tao kung ayaw humarap ng vicepresidente [19:49] hayaan natin na ang mga numero ang magkwento sa hearing na ito we shall therefore enter the territory of forensic truth [20:07] sa pamamagitan ng mga numerong ito malalaman natin ang tunay na pagkatao sa likod ng posisyon [20:15] siya ba ay tunay na public servant o isa pa lang private billionaire [20:24] at ang direction natin ngayon ay simple ngunit matibay [20:33] we follow the evidence wherever it leads [20:38] hindi tayo magpapadala sa ingay [20:40] hindi tayo lilihis sa proseso [20:42] ang ating sandigan ay ang konstitusyon [20:47] at ang ating layunin [20:49] ay ang katotohanan [20:53] because in the end [20:55] ang tanong ay hindi kung sino ang pinakamalakas ang boses [21:03] hindi kung sino ang pinakamaingay sa labas [21:07] kundi kung saan tayo itinuturo ng ebidensya [21:11] as we see it now [21:14] the chair [21:19] right before us [21:21] it remains empty [21:25] sanay na po tayo sa tanawing iyan [21:31] ngunit kahit bakante [21:33] ang upo ang iyan [21:36] even if that chair [21:38] remains empty [21:41] this room is full [21:43] of the people's questions [21:45] napakaraming tanong [21:47] mga tanong [21:51] na sa kabila ng pag-iwas [21:53] hindi mawawala [21:55] sa kabila ng pananahimik [21:58] hindi maglalaho [22:00] mga tanong na kailanman [22:03] ay hindi kayang takasan [22:05] ng [22:08] bakanting upuan [22:10] not today [22:12] not anymore [22:14] let the evidence [22:18] speak [22:20] let the numbers [22:21] testify [22:22] let the chips [22:25] fall [22:26] where they may be [22:27] let us finally resume [22:30] this hearing [22:31] with that [22:33] this committee [22:34] shall proceed [22:39] Madam Chair [22:40] the Honorable Chua [22:41] the Chair directs [22:50] the committee secretary [22:51] to call the case [22:52] I'm very happy to encourage all along