House pressed to act swiftly on triple impeachment threat vs. VP Sara

Minority lawmakers on Friday urged the leadership of the House of Representatives to take prompt action on the three impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, following reports that they have yet to reach the Office of the Speaker.

Under the Constitution, the Secretary-General must “immediately” refer any impeachment petition filed by a House member or an ordinary Filipino citizen to the Speaker. However, Secretary-General Reginald Velasco confirmed to the DAILY TRIBUNE that he has yet to transmit the complaints to Speaker Martin Romualdez, nearly three weeks after the first was filed.

“I will refer the three impeachment complaints when the legal department has completed its evaluation that the three complaints are ‘verified impeachment complaints’ and upon the resumption of session next year,” Velasco told Daily Tribune.

Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas argued that this referral should have been done immediately, stating that every day of inaction is “another day of impunity.”

“It is the constitutional duty of the House to muster the necessary votes to bring the case to the Senate so that trial can begin at the soonest possible time. Then public and private prosecutors would present the case before the Senate impeachment court,” Brosas said.

The Vice President was slapped with a third impeachment complaint on Thursday, just a day before Congress adjourned for the month-long holiday break. The petitioners — composed of priests and lawyers — are seeking her removal from office for culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

Similar to the first two petitions, the third heavily relies on findings by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which allege irregularities in the use of P612.5 million in confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when Duterte headed the latter.

Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said the allegations are “serious” and demand swift action to prevent another impeachment attempt against a high-ranking official from failing, as in previous administrations.

“From the failure to provide documentary evidence, to the use of fictitious individuals for acknowledgment receipts, to the deliberate concealment of actual intelligence gathering activities. These are not mere technical violations but point to systematic corruption and betrayal of public trust,” Manuel said.

House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro added that the House should no longer allow the “grave abuse of public funds” allegedly committed by the Vice President.

OVP under scrutiny

Duterte has faced intense scrutiny over the alleged misappropriation of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP (P500 million) and the DepEd (P112.5 million) in 2022 and 2023. A significant portion of this was flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).

The COA found that P125 million of the P500 million allocated to the OVP in 2022 was spent in just 11 days in December. Of that amount, P73.287 million was disallowed due to the lack of "documents evidencing the success of information gathering and/or surveillance activities."

One of the complainants of the third petition, lawyer Amando Virgil Libutan, claimed the impeachment was based on the illegal disbursement of confidential funds entrusted to the Vice President.

“This is based on the facts that the disbursements of the confidential funds […] were not properly done [and] the used of fictitious individuals,” Libutan said.

Fr. Joselito Sarabia, another complainant, said Duterte “committed something illegal and something immoral against the Filipino people.”

“For us, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness,” Sarabia said.

The petitioners argued that allowing Duterte to escape accountability for the alleged misuse of public funds under the guise of secrecy would set a dangerous precedent.

“Impeachment is the necessary, ultimate line of defense against corruption at the highest rungs of officialdom… She cannot be Vice President a minute longer,” the complaint stated.

The COA findings revealed that the OVP spent P500 million in confidential and intelligence funds over 209 days — or an average daily expenditure of P2.4 million.

For "purchase of information," the OVP disbursed P14 million between 21 and 31 December 2022, P10 million from 6 February to 29 March 2023, P12 million from 25 April to 30 June 2023, and P20 million from 14 July to 30 September.

Meanwhile, P72 million was spent on “payment of rewards” during these periods, with the OVP claiming to have conducted “surveillance and monitoring” activities.

The petitioners contended that Duterte’s failure to provide evidence for these expenditures demonstrated negligence in ensuring that public funds were properly spent.

Duterte has consistently denied misusing funds and said she welcomed the impeachment complaints as an opportunity to address the accusations.

The House, dominated by Duterte’s allies, has maintained that it is “duty-bound” to act on the complaints despite potential challenges. However, lawmakers have not confirmed whether they will support the petitions, especially after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appealed to Congress to halt any impeachment efforts against Duterte.

The influential religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo also echoed Marcos’ call to lawmakers, warning of a nationwide rally to oppose the impeachment.