The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability is considering grounds of graft and betrayal of public trust in a potential impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte over alleged misuse of confidential funds.

Panel chair Joel Chua, who leads the probe into Duterte’s alleged mishandling of public funds, clarified that unseating the Vice President was not the initial goal. However, during the course of the hearings, purported irregularities surfaced, prompting discussions of potential legal actions.

Chua cited specific issues involving the expenditure of P16 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for rental of safe houses over an 11-day period and an additional P15.54 million in Department of Education (DepEd) funds during Duterte's time as education secretary.

"Now, those two instances we can say is ground for impeachment because obviously there was a betrayal of public trust and that anti-graft," Chua told reporters in a briefing on Monday.

These accusations align with grounds for impeachment under Philippine law, which include graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, and other high crimes.

The DepEd, headed by Duterte until her resignation on 19 July, has been accused of misrepresenting its use of P15.54 million in secret funds for the Youth Leadership Summits (YLS) in 2023. Investigations revealed the certificates for the youth program were issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the summit alone and did not authorize any financial disbursement related to informant rewards. Military officials further clarified they received no funds from DepEd for the program, with most expenses covered by the AFP and local governments.

Over the weekend, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzalez Jr. warned that a plunder case might follow if Duterte cannot justify the expenditures, highlighting that she is not immune from lawsuits.

Chua, however, countered that Duterte must be first impeached before a plunder case could be lodged against her.

“We can't file a plunder case against the VP because she is the sitting Vice President. So, the first thing we should do is impeachment. So maybe after the impeachment, once it is proven that he is impeached, that's the time for cases to be filed against the Vice President,” Chua narrated.

Under the 1987 Constitution, there is no explicit immunity for the Vice President. In the 2019 Supreme Court case Leila de Lima vs. Rodrigo Duterte, the court ruled that the President could not be investigated or charged while in office. However, legal experts have noted that this privilege does not extend to the Vice President.

House impeachment proceedings require endorsement by a member of the House of Representatives, and for an impeachment to move forward, at least one-third of House members—equivalent to 106 votes—must support it.

Vice President Duterte attended the initial House panel hearing in September but has since declined further appearances, alleging a political agenda aimed at damaging her image ahead of the 2028 presidential election, where she is viewed as a strong candidate. House leaders have denied this claim, labeling it a diversion from the issues at hand, including allegations of cash distribution to DepEd officials.