Senate court recognizes House hearing records in Duterte impeachment case
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate impeachment court on Wednesday took judicial notice of specified House hearings and records related to the allegations against Vice President Sara Duterte, sparing prosecutors from having to prove that each proceeding and transcript existed.
Presiding officer Sen. Francis Escudero clarified that the ruling was limited to the existence of the hearings and their records.
It does not establish the truth of the allegations against Duterte or determine whether the underlying evidence is admissible or credible.
The records include proceedings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability in 2024 and the House Committee on Justice in 2026.
The hearings examined Duterte's alleged misuse of confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, among other allegations later included in the impeachment case.
What judicial notice means
Under the Rules of Court, judicial notice allows a court to recognize certain facts without requiring a party to formally prove them.
Prosecution lawyer Lorna Kapunan said the ruling means prosecutors no longer have to call witnesses solely to establish that the House hearings occurred, witnesses appeared and documents were presented.
"It is just a stipulation na may nangyaring ganon na meeting, prinesent itong mga witnesses, at itong mga dokumento," Kapunan said at a press conference.
("It is simply a stipulation that such a meeting occurred, these witnesses were presented and these documents were submitted.")
The court may therefore recognize that the proceedings and records exist, but prosecutors must still establish the relevance, admissibility and evidentiary value of the material they intend to use against Duterte.
Lascañas affidavit marked
The impeachment court separately allowed the transfer of exhibit markings for portions of an affidavit attributed to self-confessed former Davao Death Squad member Arturo Lascañas.
The document was referred to during the testimony of National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag, who said it was among the materials reviewed in an open-source investigation into Duterte's alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.
Allowing the transfer of exhibit markings does not automatically admit the affidavit into evidence or establish that its contents are true.
The prosecution must still formally offer the document, while the defense may challenge its authenticity, admissibility and evidentiary weight.
Wednesday marked the 13th day of Duterte's impeachment trial. Proceedings continued on Article II, which covers allegations that Duterte misused and malversed P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds at the OVP and DepEd.
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