After months of denial, the House of Representatives — dominated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s allies — impeached Vice President Sara Duterte during its last session day on Wednesday for alleged corruption and betrayal of public trust.

Two hundred fifteen out of 306 House members signed the impeachment complaint to have Duterte ousted, significantly surpassing the required 1/3 votes or 102 signatures to expedite the process by directly elevating the petitions to the Senate for trial. 

The complaint, initiated and endorsed by lawmakers from both majority and minority blocs, was the fourth petition lodged against the VP in a span of two months. The initial three were all filed in December and were endorsed by opposition solons, including the Makabayan bloc. 

The impeachment followed a majority coalition caucus on early Wednesday, just hours before Congress adjourned for a three-month break to pave the way for the election season. 

The petition, which contained the Articles of Impeachment, was immediately transmitted to the Senate, where Duterte will face trial. 

The signatories of the complaint include House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Presidential son, Ilocos Rep. Sandro Marcos, Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, among others.

The House, meanwhile, appointed Representatives Gerville Luistro, Romeo Acop, Rodge Gutierrez, Joel Chua, Jil Bongalon, Loreto Acharon, Marcelino Libanan, Arnan Panaligan, Ysabel Maria Zamora, Lorenz  Defensor, and Jonathan Keith Flores, to serve as prosecutors to the impeachment trial.

Although it had been long-anticipated, the House’s decision was still seen as a blatant disregard of Marcos’ call to stop any efforts to remove Duterte from office, calling it a waste of time for Congress. 

The opposition, particularly the three-member Makabayan bloc, lamented that Marcos has no business meddling in Congress, a co-equal branch of government. Some of Marcos’ allies, meanwhile, asserted that they were “duty-bound” to act on the complaints.

Romualdez, whom Duterte accused of orchestrating the congressional investigation that led to the exposure of the alleged irregularities in her use of millions of pesos in confidential funds, asserted that the VP’s impeachment will serve as a warning that “no public official, regardless of their position, is above the law.”

The fourth complaint cited six impeachable offenses purportedly committed by the VP, including, among others, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the constitution for failing to fully disclose assets, sedition, and grave threat for her kill plot against Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Romualdez.

'Nothing but political persecution'

Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte, the older brother of the VP, expressed his frustration with the move of the very institution he belongs to, calling the petition unfounded and anchored on “fabricated accusations.”

“I am appalled and enraged by the desperate and politically motivated efforts to railroad the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. The sinister maneuvering of certain lawmakers, led by [Iloilo] Rep. [Janette] Garin, to hastily collect signatures and push for the immediate approval and transmittal of this baseless impeachment case is a clear act of political persecution,” the lawmaker lamented. 

If they were unfazed by the over one million rallying supporters of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, then they are blindly marching toward an even greater storm — one that could shake the very foundation of their rule. 

Rep. Duterte, nonetheless, warned that the Marcos administration would unequivocally pay the price of its decision, citing the recent nationwide protest of the influential sect, Iglesia Ni Cristo. 

“If the Marcos administration thinks it can push this sham impeachment without consequence, they are gravely mistaken. This is not just about VP Sara Duterte… The growing discontent and frustration across the country will not be contained for long. Mark my words: this reckless abuse of power will not end in their favor,” he stressed.

The embattled VP has been at the center of intense scrutiny amid allegations of having misappropriated P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (P500 million) and the DepEd (P112.5 million) in 2022 and 2023. 

A huge portion of the secret was flagged by the Commission on Audit and was later found by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which probed the spending, that the expenses were allegedly supported by fictitious acknowledgment receipts.

Duterte, however, denied the allegations, calling the House probe “well-funded” and a “coordinated political attack” aimed at tainting her reputation ahead of the election to prevent future political contests.

Duterte and Romualdez are perceived as front-runners in the 2028 elections although the latter repeatedly denied gunning for the country’s highest post. 

Earlier, Duterte claimed that the House had been plotting to impeach her as early as 2023. The speculation followed the House’s decision to strip her of her pursuit of P650 million in secret funds in the 2024 national budget.

The rigorous attempt to impeach Duterte transpired notwithstanding the time pressure due to the 12 May mid-term polls. The session will only resume on 2 June, after the elections, unless the Senate will hold sessions even during the break.

The Senate will need a two-thirds vote from its 24 senators to convict and remove Duterte from office. If convicted, Duterte will be perpetually disqualified from holding any public office in the future.

For months, the administration lawmakers in the House openly criticized Duterte for alleged plunder. However, they remained mum on whether they would support the effort to impeach her, not until the fourth petition was filed and approved on the same day during the last session of Congress.

Impeaching a high-ranking official in just one day had already been done before by the House with the late Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona in December 2011 after securing 1/3 votes from all its members.

This shortcut route is allowed by the Constitution.