(UPDATE) CIVIL society groups filed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives on Monday.
The complainants accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco’s office received the complaint, endorsed by Akabayan Rep. Perci Cendaña, at 4:30 p.m.
PROCESS STARTS Former senator Leila de Lima and members of civil groups file an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives on Dec. 2, 2024. PHOTO BY JOHN ORVEN VERDOTE
The House “is constitutionally mandated to act on any impeachment complaint filed in accordance with the 1987 Constitution,” Velasco said.
“It is crucial to underscore that addressing an impeachment complaint is not a discretionary act for the House of Representatives but a constitutional obligation. The Constitution prescribes clear steps to ensure fairness and adherence to the rule of law,” he said.
The 1987 Constitution gives the House exclusive power to initiate impeachment cases and gives the Senate the power to try such cases.
Under the Constitution, a verified impeachment complaint may be filed by a lawmaker of the House. Any citizen may also file it, but the complaint must be endorsed by a lawmaker of the House under the Constitution.
The impeachment complaint against Duterte stemmed from various issues, including the use of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and her statement that she had contracted someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez if she died due to an alleged assassination plot.
Duterte said that remark, delivered in an online tirade against the administration, was “taken out of logical context.”
President Marcos had urged lawmakers against filing an impeachment complaint against Duterte, saying this would be a waste of time and resources.
But 1-Rider Rep. Rodge Gutierrez said the president’s comment was not an order, and the executive and legislative branches are separate.
Taguig 2nd District Rep. Pammy Zamora said in Filipino and English, “We respect the opinion of the president and what he said is a very big deal. However, we cannot stop anybody here from filing (an impeachment complaint).”
The complainants include former peace adviser Teresita Quintos Deles, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, former Magdalo Party-list representative Gary Alejano and families of the drug war victims during the previous administration.
They were accompanied by former senator Leila de Lima, who served as their spokesman.
“Public office is not a throne of privilege. It is a position of trust. Sara Duterte has desecrated that trust with her blatant abuses of power. This impeachment is not just a legal battle but a moral crusade to restore dignity and decency to public service,” de Lima said in a statement.
Cendaña, meanwhile, called the filing of the impeachment complaint a “critical juncture” in the country’s pursuit of accountability.
“Today, I formally endorse the first-ever and historic impeachment complaint filed by our citizens against Vice President Sara Duterte.
“This moment marks a critical juncture in our nation’s demand for accountability. I stand in full support of the brave citizens calling for Duterte to answer for her blatant violations of the Constitution, egregious corruption, and complicity in mass murder,” Cendaña said.
Cendaña also tied the impeachment complaint to broader efforts to hold Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and his allies accountable for the controversial war on drugs, which he said left “a trail of grieving families demanding justice, closure, and healing.”
Grounds for impeachment
The complaint details 24 articles of impeachment, including the misuse of billions of pesos in confidential funds during her tenure as Davao City mayor and Vice President, failure to account for substantial government budgets, and refusal to attend congressional hearings.
For the grounds relating to culpable violation of the Constitution and graft and corruption, the complaint alleged Duterte’s failure to properly account for P125 million in confidential funds in 2022 and additional unaccounted P650 million in 2023 for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as secretary.
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It also cited the “rigged” bidding for DepEd equipment and over P15 billion in unutilized funds in 2023.
Duterte also faced accusations of bribery and unexplained wealth, with claims that she accumulated P111 million in personal accounts and hundreds of millions more in joint accounts with her father.
She is accused of betraying public trust by abandoning her duties during Typhoon Carina in July and failing to address Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
Other charges include allegations of high crimes, such as direct involvement in extrajudicial killings and issuing threats against high-ranking officials.
The complainants urged Congress to act swiftly and impartially.
“Our complaint is a clarion call to dismantle the culture of violence, corruption, and impunity, which were the hallmark of the Vice President. Today, we rise for those who can no longer speak for themselves, demanding that Congress take decisive action to uphold truth, justice and accountability,” Villanueva said.
The vice president has not issued a statement about the impeachment complaint.
WITH PNA
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