The two remaining impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte have been deemed "sufficient in substance" by the House Committee on Justice, paving the way for a deeper scrutinization of evidence of the lady official's alleged impeachable offenses.

Passing the test for sufficiency in substance Wednesday, March 4 were the Father Joel Saballa, et al complaint, which contained six grounds for impeachment; and the Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera complaint, which listed seven grounds for impeachment.

The Saballa et al complaint was the first to be declared sufficient in substance following a vote result of 54-1-0 (yes-no-abstain), while the Cabrera complaint was declared the same in a subsequent vote that garnered a similar outcome.

The deliberations on the sufficiency in substance took place in the course of two hearings in as many days. Chairperson Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro presided over the panel proceedings.

Quezon City 4th district Rep. Jesus "Bong" Suntay was the lone "no" vote in the consideration of both the Saballa and Cabrera complaints.

The Saballa et al complaint, filed last Feb. 9, was endorsed by Senior Deputy Minority Leader Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima; on the other hand, Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega V and Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. endorsed the Cabrera complaint when it was lodged in the House last Feb. 18.

Both impeachment raps were declared sufficient in form during the justice committee's hearing last Monday, Feb. 2. Along the way, two other impeachment complaints--the France Castro, et al complaint and the Francisco Aquino Dee complaint--ended up getting dropped by the Luistro panel.

But this development practically sped up the process as the committee suddenly had fewer complaints to check for sufficiency in substance.

The committee, through its vice chairperson San Juan City lone district Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora, immediately set the stage for the next phase of the impeachment proceedings against the second highest ranking official of the land.

"In view of the finding of the sufficiency in substance of the two impeachment complaints, I move to issue notice to the Vice President...the respondent to the impeachment complaints, to file her answer to the impeachment complaints within a non-extendable period of 10 calendar days from receipt of this notice," Zamora said.

Senior Deputy Speaker and South Cotabato 2nd district Rep. Ferdinand Hernandez, in a manifestation before the votings, said that the panel at this point wasn't trying to determine guilt or innocence on the part of Duterte.

"We are not conducting a trial today, or are we rendering a judgement on the allegations contained in the complaint. What the Constitution requires us at this stage is far more limited but nonetheless essential--the committee is merely determining whether the allegations--assuming them to be true for purposes of evaluation--are sufficient in substance to warrant the continuation of the impeachment process," he said.

De Lima, as endorser of the Saballa et al complaint, raised during the hearing Tuesday, March 3 allegations over the alleged misuse of about P612 million in confidential funds and claims of corruption within the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s tenure as secretary.

She also brought up accusations that Duterte threatened to assassinate President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Leyte 1st district Rep Martin Romualdez.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday's hearing, Abante and Ortega sparked discussions on the alleged omissions in Duterte’s statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), as well as claims of unexplained wealth disproportionate to lawful income.

Suntay was the most passionate and consistent defender of Duterte during the course of the hearings.

Once the Vice President submits her answer to the impeachment complaints, the justice committee will proceed to the next phase of hearings to determine whether probable cause exists.

If and when the committee finds probable cause, the articles of impeachment comprised of the strongest allegations against Duterte will be transmitted to the House plenary for voting. From there, only a one-third vote is needed to impeach the Vice President and send the articles to the Senate.

In the 2025, the House was able to successfully impeach Duterte via the "fast-track" mode, which skipped the justice panel hearings altogether. This means that this year's proceedings will be the first time that the allegations against Duterte would be dissected in a public hearing.