Vice President Sara Duterte could still be charged with plunder in the event of an acquittal in her upcoming impeachment trial, Representative-elect Leila de Lima said Monday, citing prospects of the proceedings turning in her favor due to the new composition of the Senate.

De Lima noted that while the recently concluded elections indicate an increase in the number of senator-judges who will potentially vote favorably for Duterte’s acquittal, the pursuit of accountability will not end there, as she may still face plunder charges related to the alleged misuse of her confidential funds.

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

She added, “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.”

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

Though veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal had contended that the second-highest leader must also be ineligible for such immunity, considering that they are both impeachable officials.

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

While the impeachment process is primarily aimed at removing Duterte from office — or permanently disqualifying her from holding public office in case of a conviction — De Lima pointed out that filing plunder charges is still necessary to ensure that she will be held accountable for her “wrongdoings.”

She added that the charges could be filed after the Senate renders a verdict or while the impeachment trial is ongoing.

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

De Lima, others proclaimed

De Lima, the first nominee of the Mamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist and scheduled to be proclaimed by the Commission on Elections today, Monday, will join the 11-member prosecution panel alongside 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, with 215 lawmakers, or more than double the required one-third votes, signing the impeachment complaint.

The articles of impeachment accuse Duterte of graft and corruption, and bribery, among others, in connection with the purported mishandling of P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office and 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 accusations of corruption, dismissing the impeachment as 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 only need 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.

However, with the composition of the Senate in the next Congress, it has been speculated that Duterte may be cleared of the charges, as she already has the confidence of six of the senator-judges, who are allied with her family: Senator Robin Padilla, re-elected Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, and Imee Marcos, as well as incoming Senators Camille Villar and Rodante Marcoleta.

This implies that the VP only needs three more votes to get off scot-free of the charges.