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Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District) at the House Blue Ribbon Committee's fifth hearing on the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education's use of confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 on Nov. 11, 2024.
House of Representatives / Release
MANILA, Philippines — A House prosecutor revealed on Monday, March 10, some of the assignments within the panel handling Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
During a press conference, Rep. Joel Chua (Manila, 3rd District) said he would handle the second and third articles of impeachment, which involve allegations of confidential fund misuse, “ghost expenses” and cash envelopes distributed to high-ranking officials.
“Sa akin po, two at saka three. ‘Yung [allegations sa] confidential funds at saka ‘yung sa bribery,” he said.
(For me, it's two and three — the allegations on confidential funds and the bribery.)
Chua, who chairs the House good government committee, led the investigation into the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) under Duterte’s leadership.
The committee's findings include acknowledgment receipts bearing the names of individuals not registered with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), issues in the special disbursing officers' handling of a combined P612.5 million confidential and intelligence funds, and the flagged P15.54 million expenditure for supposed "youth leadership summits."
He said the articles he will be defending at the trial are among the strongest in the impeachment complaint.
“Well, unang-una talaga kung ako po ang tatanungin ang pinakamatibay po dyan ‘yung articles one to three,” he said.
(Well, first of all, if you ask me, the strongest ones are articles one to three.)
When drafting the fourth impeachment complaint, Chua said lawmakers reviewed the grounds for impeachment and allegations outlined in the first three complaints.
He emphasized that the allegations in the fourth complaint — which secured the signatures of 215 lawmakers and led to Duterte’s impeachment on the same day — were carefully vetted to ensure they were supported by evidence.
The impeachment complaint outlines seven accusations, which the 11-member prosecution panel will divide among themselves when presenting the articles of impeachment before the Senate.
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“Kagaya nung nakaraan, hinati-hati na po ‘yung articles. Kung saan po ang bawat isa ay may mga assignment and at the same time pinag-aaralan ‘yung mga substansya ng bawat article at kung ano pa ‘yung possible na mga legal issues na amin pong kakaharapin,” Chua said.
(Just like before, the articles have been divided, with each member assigned specific parts. At the same time, we are studying the substance of each article and anticipating any possible legal issues we may face.)
He added that Reps. Gerville “JinkyBitrics” Luistro (Batangas, 2nd District) and Romeo Acop (Antipolo, 2nd District) were also assigned to handle articles two and three of the impeachment complaint.
Both lawmakers also actively participated in the good government’s probe into the alleged confidential fund misuse.
Meanwhile, Rep. Lorenz Defensor (Iloilo, 3rd District) will be responsible for the first article, which deals with the death threats Duterte issued against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Prosecutors are tentatively set to present the articles of impeachment on June 2, when Congress reconvenes after the 2025 midterm elections.
