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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Wednesday's House impeachment hearing expected to be the Trillanes show

Wednesday's House impeachment hearing expected to be the Trillanes show

Published Apr 21, 2026 02:41 pm

At A Glance

  • If detainee Ramil Madriaga was the main attraction during the last House impeachment hearing against Vice President Sara Duterte, then former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV could be the star of the show Wednesday, April 22, when the proceedings resume.
Former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV (Facebook)
Former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV (Facebook)


If detainee Ramil Madriaga was the main attraction during the last House impeachment hearing against Vice President Sara Duterte, then former senator Antonio "Sonny" Trillanes IV could be the star of the show Wednesday, April 22, when the proceedings resume.
This, after the Committee on Justice confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, April 21 that Trillanes received a subpoena for his appearance Wednesday at the House of Representatives for the continuation of the hearings on the determination of probable cause in the two active impeachment complaints against the second highest official of the land.
Trillanes, a known critic of the Duterte family, was also instructed by the panel to submit documents tied to allegations of unexplained wealth against the Vice President.
It was during a hearing last April 14 when the justice committee chaired by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro ordered the issuance of a subpoena ad testificandum et duces tecum to the ex-senator.
Madriaga, an alleged ex-intelligence officer of the previous Duterte administration and ex-"bagman" of the Vice President, read and submitted a 24-page supplementary affidavit during that hearing.
Madriaga's detailed roughly a decafe worth of his interactions with former president Rodrigo Duterte and his eldest daughter, Sara. Afterward, he taken back to his detention cell at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
In the case of Trillanes, he is expected to provide substance to discussions on "allegations in the impeachment complaints of unexplained wealth, which Vice President Sara Z. Duterte failed to reflect in her statement of assets, liabilities, & net worth".
The subpoena also directed Trillanes “to testify that Rodrigo Duterte, jointly with his daughter, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte maintained numerous accounts where hundreds of millions if not billions of pesos were deposited/transferred over the years, and other related matters".
The justice panel will allow Trillanes to be accompanied by his legal counsel during the proceedings, but such counsel will be limited to an advisory role and “shall not be permitted to speak or otherwise participate in the proceedings".
AMLC
The justice panel also confirmed that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) received a summon, particularly a subpoena ad testificandum et duces tecum for its chairman Eli Remolona Jr.
Remolona is also expected to attend Wednesday's proceedings together with documents covering reported transactions from 2006 to 2025.
The committee also directed the AMLC to “identify and authenticate AMLC reportorial certifications, and other relevant reports” involving the Vice President, her spouse lawyer Manases Carpio and “various business entities in which they hold interest".
'Documents will do the talking'
Justice committee member, Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon believes Wednesday's impeachment hearing will be more consequential than previous ones since the House will be dissecting financial documents, tax records, and bank transactions over allegations of ill-gotten and unexplained wealth--something of an uncharted territory.
“Mas mabigat ang susunod na pagdinig sa impeachment ng pangalawang pangulo dahil wala nang star witness na pag-uusapan. Hindi na mga personalidad ang sentro ng usapan—mga dokumento na mismo ang magsasalita,” Ridon said.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/MANILA BULLETIN)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/MANILA BULLETIN)
(The next impeachment hearing for the vice president carries more weight because there is no longer a star witness to discuss. Personalities are no longer at the center of the proceedings—the documents will do the talking.)
Officials from the AMLC, Office of the Ombudsman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), are expected to attend the April 22 hearing.
Ridon said the documents to be submitted by these agencies will allow lawmakers to independently assess whether there was a significant discrepancy in the Vice President’s wealth beyond the ₱88.5 million net worth declared in her 2024 SALN.
“Kung may malaking pagkakaiba mula sa ₱88 million base sa ITR, bank records, at financial statements ng SEC, may problema na ‘yun. Kailangang magtugma ang idineklara niyang halaga ng kanyang kayamanan sa SALN at sa records ng BIR at SEC,” he said.
“Kung makita ng komite na ang totoong kayamanan ng Pangalawang Pangulo ay halos doble na ng kanyang SALN, malinaw na puwede itong maging sapat na batayan para sa probable cause ng unexplained wealth,” Ridon added.
When asked whether the committee will examine the bank accounts and transactions cited by Trillanes, Ridon said the panel must first establish whether the accounts were indeed attributable to the Vice President.
Trillanes, a retired Navy lieutenant, earlier claimed that over ₱2.4 billion in transactions allegedly occurred from 2006 to 2015 across multiple Duterte family accounts, including joint accounts with the impeachment respondent.
He also claimed to possess bank ledgers showing deposit patterns allegedly linked to manager’s checks associated with illegal drug transactions, involving accounts under the names of Sara Duterte during her tenure as vice mayor, as well as those of Rodrigo Duterte’s wife and son.

Related Tags

Impeachment Sara Duterte Antonio Trillanes Ramil Madriaga Rodrigo Duterte Unexplained wealth SALN Terry Ridon AMLC
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