THE House Committee on Justice ruled on Tuesday that it will consider the authenticity of documents attached to impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as it determines whether the cases have enough factual basis to proceed.
By a 24–21 vote, the panel rejected a motion seeking to temporarily exclude the issue of document authenticity during the current stage of the proceedings, known as the determination of sufficiency in substance. This decision means the committee will not set aside the annexes and records attached to the complaints while assessing whether the allegations are supported by facts.
Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan, vice chair of the justice committee, said the panel’s task is to determine whether the complaints contain a narration of facts that could support an impeachable offense, not just claims.
House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor echoed this view, stating that the committee has a duty “to determine it with diligence” and that sufficiency in substance requires more than accepting allegations at face value.
The vote came as the panel continues its review after earlier declaring both impeachment complaints sufficient in form, a procedural step that allows the committee to proceed to weighing their substance but does not amount to approval of the charges.
