Plunder axe raised over Sara’s head

Vice President Sara Duterte could still be charged with plunder even if she is acquitted in her upcoming impeachment trial.

Representative-elect Leila de Lima raised this possibility Monday as she admitted that the new composition of the Senate may favor a Duterte acquittal.

“If the judgment ultimately turns out to be an acquittal, she can still be charged, especially for plunder, for the misuse of confidential and intelligence funds,” said De Lima in Filipino in an interview.

“She won’t get away with it just yet because she can still be charged. That’s what the law says. If you have committed a crime against the law, you must be held accountable,” De Lima said.

Unlike the sitting President, the Vice President is not immune from lawsuits, leaving the official open to criminal charges while in office.

De Lima said filing plunder charges is not impossible, noting that Duterte already has a pending case at the Department of Justice involving an alleged assassination plot against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

While the impeachment is primarily aimed at removing Duterte from office and disqualifying her from running again in case of a conviction, De Lima said filing a plunder case would be necessary to ensure that she is held accountable for her “wrongdoings.”

She said the charges could be filed after the Senate renders its verdict or while the impeachment trial is ongoing.

DAILY TRIBUNE reached out to Duterte’s office for comment, but they declined, saying that impeachment-related matters are handled solely by her legal team—the Fortun, Narvasa and Salazar Law Firm.

De Lima, the first nominee of the Mamayang Liberal (ML) party-list who was proclaimed by the Commission on Elections yesterday, will join the 11-member prosecution panel alongside Representative-elect Chel Diokno of Akbayan. Both will replace prosecutors who lost their reelection bids.

Vice President Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives on 5 February after 215 lawmakers—more than twice the required one-third votes—signed the impeachment complaint.

The articles of impeachment accused Duterte of graft and corruption, bribery, and other offenses related to the purported mishandling of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office and to the Department of Education which she headed for nearly two years.

The amount in question surpassed the P50-million threshold for the crime of plunder.

Duterte has long denied the accusation of corruption, calling the impeachment a “well-funded” and “coordinated political attack” meant to derail her reported 2028 presidential bid.

The Senate, which will sit as the impeachment court, will need only nine votes out of 24 senators to acquit Duterte when she faces trial in the 20th Congress, which is set to open in late July.

With the composition of the incoming Senate, it is speculated that Duterte may be cleared of the charges, as she already enjoys the support of six senator-judges allied with her family: Senator Robin Padilla, reelected Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, and Imee Marcos, as well as incoming Senators Camille Villar and Rodante Marcoleta.

This means she would need only three more votes to be acquitted of the charges.