MANILA — Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, have “a lot of explaining to do” as questions continue to surround their wealth and financial interests, Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V of La Union said Tuesday.

“Again, they have a lot of explaining to do. They have a lot of answers to give,” Ortega said at a press briefing.

Ortega was responding to the possibility of Carpio being called as a witness in the Senate impeachment trial, noting that House lawmakers had wanted Duterte herself to appear during the earlier impeachment proceedings.

“Actually, mas noon pang hearing sa House, ang gusto nga namin mismo, eh, ’yung Vice President, eh,” Ortega said.

“So, kumbaga, package — parang package na lang kung sakaling mag-appear po ’yung kanyang better half,” he added.

Ortega and Manila Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. were among those who endorsed an impeachment complaint against Duterte that was later incorporated into the Articles of Impeachment now pending before the Senate.

“So, as endorsers, we want to see this through and we want our big question marks answered as well,” Ortega said.

Abante, chair of the House Committee on Human Rights, also said Duterte and Carpio could be asked to testify directly.

He initially saw no need to call Carpio because of the evidence already presented by the prosecution. However, the presentation Tuesday of Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) involving the couple prompted him to reconsider.

“Pero palagay ko, narinig ko kanina ’yung mga SALN, kasama ’yung asawa niya. Well, siguro mas maganda nang patawag natin,” Abante said.

Abante also said Duterte should testify, particularly after her defense questioned the testimony of Ombudsman records official Karen Batu on the ground that she lacked personal knowledge of the information contained in the SALNs.

“Eh wala palang personal knowledge. Payagan na nila si Vice President mag-appear, sapagkat meron siyang personal knowledge. Siya mismo nakakaalam ng lahat ng mga bagay na ’yan,” Abante said.

The decision on whether Carpio will be called, however, remains with the House prosecution panel.

House impeachment prosecutor 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said prosecutors would consider whether Carpio could provide information that could not be obtained from another witness.

“Definitely, the consideration would be whether or not the witness would add something to the table which cannot be provided by another witness,” Gutierrez said.

He said the panel would also have to consider the difficulties of presenting Carpio as a hostile witness, adding that prosecutors would prefer another witness if the same facts could be established through that person.

Gutierrez stressed that he was speaking in his personal capacity and did not want to “preempt the panel of prosecutors.”

The prosecution has yet to announce whether it will subpoena Carpio.

Duterte and Carpio’s financial declarations are being scrutinized under Article II of the impeachment case, which accuses the Vice President of unexplained wealth and false or incomplete SALNs. The allegations remain subject to determination by the Senate impeachment court.