After a year of speculation, an impeachment complaint was finally lodged against Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, accusing her of abuse of power and corruption.

Civil society organizations, religious leaders, sectoral representatives and families of the victims of the bloody drug war of the VP’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, lodged the impeachment complaint, which was endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco formally received the complaint at 4:30 p.m.

The 16 complainants cited all the grounds for impeachment such as graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes except for treason.

Cendaña expressed optimism his peers would support the complaint despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plea to stop any attempts to remove the Vice President from office.

“We believe that this is the responsibility of our institution. They have to give this complaint a fair chance and a fair day in court. This impeachment complaint is crucial to start the real step process towards holding the Vice President accountable,” Cendaña told reporters.

“We believe the merits of our impeachment complaint are strong and we also believe in our colleagues in Congress that when they see that our complaint is strong, this case is strong, they will support it,” he added.

Last week, House leaders said that although impeachment proceedings against Duterte were not part of the chamber’s agenda, Congress is still “duty bound” to act on an impeachment complaint filed by ordinary Filipinos.

The President had confirmed he discouraged House members from filing an impeachment complaint against Duterte, calling it a “waste of time” as “none of this will help improve a single Filipino life.”

BBM castigated

The Makabayan bloc, however, castigated the President for “intervening” and “influencing” members of the House, asserting that it was a blatant violation of the separation of powers.

Further, they insinuated that his appeal only indicated that Marcos was still hoping to rekindle his alliance with Duterte, notwithstanding the Vice President’s threat to have him assassinated, along with First Lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“[Duterte’s threats and meltdown in recent press conferences] are very unbecoming and these are actually a betrayal of public trust, because these are also high crimes,” former senator Leila de Lima, who accompanied Cendaña in filing the impeachment complaint, told reporters.

De Lima is the spokesperson of the group and not a party to the complaint.

The filing of the impeachment complaint came amid the House of Representatives’ probe into alleged irregularities in the use of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (P500 million) and the Department of Education (P112.5 million) in 2022 and 2023 during her stint as DepEd secretary.

Duterte, however, denied the allegations, calling the House probe a “well-funded” and a “coordinated political attack” aimed at discrediting her to prevent a future political contest against Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The power to impeach rests solely in the House of Representatives, but a Filipino citizen may file an impeachment complaint, which should be endorsed by a member of the lower chamber.

To advance in the Senate, at least one-third of House members should vote in favor of it. This is equivalent to 106 members of the current House.

VP not immune

Unlike the President, the immunity from lawsuits is not extended to the Vice President, leaving him or her open to criminal charges while in office.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal has contended that the privilege must also be extended to the VP considering that they are both impeachable officials.

Velasco said the House will remain committed to conducting the impeachment proceedings with transparency, impartiality, and full respect for the rule of law, maintaining public trust in government institutions.

“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 averred.

“Accordingly, the House will proceed with its duties in this matter, strictly adhering to the Constitution, its rules, and the principles of due process,” Velasco said.

The Constitution mandates the House Secretary General to refer the impeachment complaint to the House Speaker and to include the same in the Order of Business within 10 session days.

Afterward, the complaint should be referred within three session days to the House Committee on Justice, which shall determine whether the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.

The standoff between the House and the VP stemmed from the Lower Chamber’s decision to question her use of P650 million in confidential funds.

The House instead realigned the funds to agencies involved in security and intelligence matters, such as the Philippine Coast Guard, among others, amid the continuing incursion of Chinese militia vessels in the West Philippines Sea.

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

Duterte had told the lawmakers that she had been informed of the supposed plot to impeach her as well as Romualdez’s plan to run for president.