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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte on House move to subpoena office records: Another fishing expedition

Duterte on House move to subpoena office records: Another fishing expedition

Published Mar 13, 2026 10:22 am
Vice President Sara Duterte
Vice President Sara Duterte
Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday, March 13, hit Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno's move to subpoena documents and records from her office and said it is yet another type of "fishing expedition" by House members, who have filed an impeachment complaint against her.
Duterte said it is what she has been "saying all along" that House members do not actually have sufficient evidence to warrant a case against her.
She said the recent House committee's finding that the complaint is sufficient in substance must presuppose "that the allegations in the complaints are supported by evidence."
But the committee "cannot conduct an investigation to search for evidence to support accusations already made in the impeachment complaints," she said.
"Doing so would amount to a third 'fishing expedition' by the House of Representatives," Duterte said, as she earlier accused House lawmakers of conducting hearings supposedly in aid of legislation but they were doing so o to actually get evidence against her.
"The first was the budget hearing in 2024, remembered for the now infamous line, 'Let’s stick to our plan.' The second were the hearings conducted by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which many will recall for the so-called 'Mary Grace Piattos' attack," she claimed.
"Now we are witnessing yet another desperate attempt to search for evidence where none exists," Duterte said.
The Vice President maintained that her impeachment case is a political attack that is supposedly designed "to protect certain individuals and advance personal and foreign interests."
And while the world scrambles to help its citizens affected by the ongoing Middle East conflict, Duterte claimed, "the Philippine House of Representatives and the Office of the President remain preoccupied with a political nemesis who refuses to kowtow to their corrupt ways."
"This is another insult. This time, it is directed at our OFWs, the poor, and the many Filipino families who may soon be pushed deeper into hardship as a result of war and its global consequences," she said.

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Vice President Sara Duterte Sara Duterte impeachment
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