VP Sara’s lawyers say more impeachment complaints expected

The impeachment defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte said Monday it was not surprised by the filing of a third complaint against her, which accuses her of alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption.

"We have nothing further to add beyond the statement we issued last week. The filing of additional complaints was anticipated by the defense team," said Atty. Michael Poa, spokesperson of Duterte’s lawyers, when sought for comment following the filing of another impeachment complaint against the vice president.

"For now, we will continue to closely monitor developments and address these complaints through the appropriate constitutional processes," Poa added.

When asked if there was anything new regarding the third impeachment complaint against the vice president, Poa said: "Hindi ko pa nababasa yung third impeachment complaint, so I cannot comment on it just yet."

A third impeachment complaint was filed on Monday by rwligious groups, priests, and lawyers against Duterte for alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, among others.

The complaint accused the vice president of misusing around P612 million in confidential funds and corrupting officials of the Department of Education when she was still its head.

The first impeachment complaint was filed by members of the Makabayan coalition and allied groups on 2 February, alleging that the vice president betrayed public trust.

The second impeachment complaint was also filed on the same day by civil society organization Tindig Pilipinas and others and was endorsed by de Lima and Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña.

The vice president previously denied the allegations.