House prosecutor: Four impeachment articles strong enough to convict Sara

The House prosecution panel strongly believes that four of the seven articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte provide the "strongest case” sufficient to convict the second-highest official, forcing her out of office and permanently disqualifying her from holding a government position.

According to House prosecutor Joel Chua on Thursday, these charges are centered on the supposed death threat against the President’s life, the “misuse” of confidential funds, alleged bribery of subordinates, and the VP’s purported unexplained wealth, which are contained under Articles I, II, III, and IV, respectively.

“I believe there are four [strongest cases against Duterte]. The Article I alone — her threat to President — is already extraordinary in its severity,” Chua, the head of the committee that investigated Duterte's confidential funds use, said partly in Filipino in an interview.

The House outlined seven articles of impeachment against the VP. She could be convicted if found guilty on just a single article, as long as it meets the required two-thirds vote, or equivalent to 16 of the 24-member Senate impeachment court.

Duterte was the first Vice President impeached by the House on 5 February, with 215 lawmakers backing her removal from office. Her impending trial in the Senate will be the first of its kind in the country’s history.

She was accused of high crimes, betrayal of public trust, and/or culpable violation of the Constitution when she claimed that she had already arranged for the assassination of President Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez in the event of her own death.

The House posits that she also committed graft and corruption for allegedly misappropriating P612.5 million in confidential funds allocated to her office and the Department of Education, which she headed for two years. Of the sum, P125 million was spent in just 11 days, P73 million of which was flagged by the Commission on Audit.

The cash envelopes purportedly being given monthly to high-ranking DepEd officials, some of which contained as high as P50,000, were tantamount to bribery, as alleged in Article III of the impeachment complaint.

The House also accused Duterte of having hidden wealth amounting to P2 billion, which remains allegedly unexplained in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Based on the complaint, Duterte’s SALN skyrocketed from P13.9 million in 2007 to P44.83 million in 2017, covering her tenure as vice mayor and mayor of Davao City. The House claimed that her net worth was not proportionate to the salary grade of a mayor, which was pegged at only P2.64 million.

On top of this, she was accused of having over P2 billion in joint bank accounts with her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, from 2006 to 2015.

Chua claimed that evidence set to be laid down under these four articles alone suffices to convict Duterte of graft, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and high crimes.

The VP has since denied the allegations of corruption, insisting that her confidential fund usage was lawful and that her remarks about assassinating the Marcos family were “taken out of context.”

The Senate impeachment court is expected to try her when the 20th Congress opens on 28 July.

Amid moves to prematurely dismiss the impeachment, Chua reminded the Senate impeachment court to exercise “political neutrality” during the course of the trial pursuant to its rules.

“To dismiss an impeachment complaint outright without even conducting a trial is, I believe, not within the bounds of impeachment court,” he stressed. “Under the Constitution, they should try and decide.”

Duterte only needs nine votes to be acquitted of the charges. But with the composition of the Senate in the 20th Congress, speculations have indicated that she only needs three more affirmative votes since she already has the confidence of six of the senator-judges.

They are re-elected Senators Christopher “Bong” Go, Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, and Imee Marcos, Senator Robin Padilla and incoming Senators Camille Villar and Rodante Marcoleta, all identified allies of the VP.