THE chair of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Monday said the Ombudsman acted swiftly on the panel’s recommendation to charge Vice President Sara Duterte of plunder and other violations despite not having seen the voluminous evidence that would have supported the committee’s report.
“The mere fact na in-adopt nila ang aming committee report nang hindi pa man din naka-attach doon ang mga ebidensya, eh ibig sabihin noon, nakikita po nila na meron na pong probable cause,” said Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua, who also serves as a member of the House prosecution panel for the impeachment trial against Duterte
Chua said the House committee report adopted on June 10 was transmitted to the Ombudsman on June 16. Merely three days later, the Ombudsman issued an order directing Duterte and several others to submit their counter-affidavits.
“Bagamat doon sa isinumite naming committee report, hindi pa nakapaloob dito ‘yung mga ebidensya namin… masasabi namin na parang mabilis din ‘yung pangyayari,” he said.
“So, medyo nagulat lang kami, pero maaasahan po ninyo na kami naman ay magko-comply dito,” he added.
Chua emphasized that while the panel welcomes the development, it did not expect such swift action, especially given the Ombudsman’s previous public stance in 2023.
At the time, Ombudsman Samuel Martires had claimed to see no violation in Duterte’s spending of P125 million in confidential funds within 11 days.
“This is a welcome development sa amin. Dahil kung maalala ninyo, noong November sinasabi ng ating Ombudsman na wala siyang nakikitang violation ng ating Bise Presidente. So sa pag-akto nila dito sa aming committee report, maaaring nag-iba na ang kanilang opinion,” Chua said.
Should Duterte’s legal team file a counter-affidavit, Chua said the panel will formally request time to submit a reply, this time including all supporting documentation and annexes that were used in drafting the committee report.
“Kami naman ay humihingi ng ilang palugit para makapag-submit naman ng aming reply. So we will cooperate,” Chua said.
Chua was also asked about concerns raised by some lawmakers over the Ombudsman’s decision to act ahead of the Senate impeachment trial.
He noted that jurisprudence typically requires administrative or criminal proceedings to wait until after conviction in an impeachment trial.
“Masasabi po natin na na-surprise din kami kasi itong ating Vice President ay impeachable officer. Nakalagay doon sa mandato [ng Ombudsman] ay dapat antayin muna ang maging resulta ng impeachment bago ma-file ang mga kaakibat na charges,” Chua said.
“Kaya medyo nasorpresa kami sa bilis ng trabaho ng ating Ombudsman. But just the same, ito ay wine-welcome namin at kami ay makikipag-cooperate fully,” he added.
He made clear that the committee is ready to support the legal process and trusts that the next steps will respect both due process and the constitutional framework for handling impeachable officials.
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