The presence of probable cause has already been determined in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, as far as Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon is concerned.

This, after lawyer-solon digested the events of the House Committee on Justice's latest impeachment hearing last Tuesday, April 14. In particular, Ridon cited five reasons why the impeachment case should now move forward beyond the panel.

"[The] finding of probable cause for impeachment on the basis of confidential funds misuse, tingin ko po na-establish na po iyon (I think that has been established)," Ridon told House reporters.

“Una, mabigat ho talaga ang finality ng COA (Commission on Audit) finding kung saan pinapasauli mismo sa ating Pangalawang Pangulo ang P73 million mula sa 2022 confidential funds dahil sa maling paggamit,” Ridon said.

(First, the finality of the COA finding is weighty, as it orders the Vice President herself to return P73 million from the 2022 confidential funds due to improper use.)

He was referring to COA's final decision to uphold its notice of disallowance on the P73 million in confidential funds spent by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in December 2022.

Under the ruling, Duterte and two other OVP officials named in the decision would be required to return the P73 million to the national treasury.

“Pangalawa, ‘yung NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) finding na sinasabi na parang isang tao o iilang tao lamang ang pumirma sa mga acknowledgment receipts (AR) nina Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya, at iba pang fictitious names na tumanggap umano ng confidential funds,” Ridon noted.

(Second, the NBI finding indicates that only one person or just a few individuals signed the ARs under the names of Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya, and other fictitious identities who supposedly received confidential funds.)

The ARs have been the Duterte camp's best explanation as to how P612.5 million worth of confidential funds fron the OVP and Department of Education (DepEd) have been spent.

“Ikatlo, mabigat din ang PSA certification na nagsasabing hindi totoong mga tao sina Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya, at iba pang mga pangalan, dahil wala sila sa database ng PSA. Ibig sabihin, wala silang birth, marriage, o death records sa database ng PSA,” the party-list lawmaker said.

(Third, the PSA certification is also significant, stating that Mary Grace Piattos, Milky Secuya, and the other names are not real individuals, as they do not appear in the PSA database. This means they have no birth, marriage, or death records.)

During Tuesday’s hearing, the justice committee also reviewed testimony from OVP and DepEd officials involved in handling confidential funds, as well as accounts from senior DepEd officials who said they regularly received cash envelopes allegedly from the Vice President.

“Ikaapat, mabigat din ang mga naunang proceedings ng 19th Congress House Committee on Good Government, dahil doon unang nailatag ang mga partikular na ebidensya, dokumento, at detalye ukol sa paggamit ng confidential funds,” Ridon added.

(Fourth, the earlier proceedings of the 19th Congress House Committee on Good Government carry weight as well, since it was there that specific evidence, documents, and details regarding the use of confidential funds were first presented.)

The findings of the good government panel was cited in the impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Duterte in 2025, as well as the complaints filed this year.

Lastly, Ridon said the testimony of Duterte’s alleged "bagman", detainee-turned-witness Ramil Madriaga, helped complete the narrative on what happened to the confidential funds.

“At panghuli, ang testimonya ni Ramil Madriaga, kung saan sinabi niyang tumanggap siya at nag-deliver ng mga duffel bags sa tatlong magkakahiwalay na lokasyon na umano’y naglalaman ng cash mula sa confidential funds,” he said.

(And finally, the testimony of Ramil Madriaga, who said he received and delivered duffel bags to three separate locations, allegedly containing cash from the confidential funds.)

The justice committee is scheduled to hold its next hearing for the determination of probable cause on April 22.