House reiterates no impeachment plot vs. VP Sara

Members of the House of Representatives reiterated on Wednesday that there had been no talk of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, contradicting the latter’s claims that moves to oust her are "openly discussed" within the halls of the chamber.

"These are the things that our Vice President should be wary of because it's hard when someone reports without a basis," House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin said in Filipino in a press conference. "It's a waste of time that goes into useless matters. Again, I haven't heard talks of an impeachment, nor did I see it among our colleagues."

Duterte on Tuesday accused House members of attempting to impeach her, citing her "friends" in the House, whom she claimed cannot speak for themselves out of fear. 

The VP claimed that the purported plot is "openly discussed" by members of the House, and this came as no surprise, as she expected this "playbook" from those wishing for the downfall of her family.

"They want to bring down the Duterte family, not just in politics, but probably personally as well, because they even involved my husband, who is a private individual. They included him in their harassment," she said.

To recall, former Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban implicated the VP; brother, Rep. Paolo Duterte; her husband, Mans Carpio; and former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte's presidential economic adviser, Michael Yang, in the smuggling of P11 billion worth of shabu hidden in magnetic lifters discovered at the Manila International Container Port in 2018.

Guban tagged Rep. Duterte, Carpio and Yang as the owners of the illicit drug shipment, which the other camp categorically denied, calling it "baseless" and "maliciously false."

Garin, meanwhile, dared the "intriguers" to come forward as she raised suspicions that the people behind the VP's statement had a "vested interest" and were trying to "deceive" her.

Garin, the vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, also denied the findings of the Commission on Audit on the utilization of Duterte's office's confidential funds in 2022 and 2023 would be used as one of the avenues to unseat her.

"The motion [made during the panel's budget deliberations] came from Hon. France Castro, and I understand that the goal is to prove that the allocation of confidential funds is made in proper context," Garin said.

La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega and 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ramon Gutierrez also denied allegations of impeachment, challenging the VP to namedrop her so-called friends to substantiate her claims.

"She should just identify her friends who said that [so that] they could verify  if the information they are getting from the grapevine is correct. But here in the House of Representatives, nothing has been discussed," Ortega told reporters.

"I think the only thing we can do on our part is to confirm that at least to us, we are not hearing any such allegations. There is no talk of impeachment here in the House," Gutierrez said in the same press conference.

Meanwhile, Lanao del Norte Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong expressed hope that "this rumor mongering would stop."

"There is a saying that one word is enough for a wise man. How many times has it been said that there is no truth in that," he lamented.

Adiong added, "This issue of impeachment, that's why we don't put credence on [this] issue because we know that this only creates disunity, create chaos politically. It's counterproductive and it counters the efforts and the positive result of everything that we have done and everything that we continue to do."

Rumors about Duterte's impeachment first circulated in mid-2023 following the alleged irregular transfer of the Office of the President of P125 million in confidential funds to the Office of the Vice President without "congressional authorization."

The purported plot did not flourish as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his allies in the House were not receptive to the idea and dismissed it as mere intrigue. 

Ako Bicol Rep. Angelo Jil Bongalon earlier said that while no formal impeachment complaint has yet been filed against the VP, it would come as no surprise if she faced one sooner or later.