55-0 vote sends Sara Duterte impeachment to plenary

The House Committee on Justice has approved its committee report, resolution and Articles of Impeachment for transmittal to the plenary, where lawmakers will decide whether to elevate the case to the Senate sitting as an impeachment court.

In a unanimous vote of 55-0 during Monday’s hearing, the panel formally adopted the impeachment complaints filed by clergy members and Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera.

The motion to approve the documents was raised by Deputy Speaker David Suarez following proposed amendments from several lawmakers.

Among the revisions was the inclusion of allegations that Vice President Sara Duterte failed to divest business interests from 2022 to 2025, based on Securities and Exchange Commission records, as proposed by Leila de Lima.

Chel Diokno and Antonio Tinio also moved to amend portions of the report to align with the committee’s findings.

After three clarificatory hearings, the panel said it found probable cause on allegations of high crimes against the Vice President.

The final report contains four articles of impeachment, citing alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and verbal threats against high-ranking officials.

Copies of the articles will be furnished to all members of Congress and the Vice President’s camp ahead of plenary deliberations and voting.

Terry Ridon said it is “certain” the Vice President will be impeached at the House, noting that securing the required 106 votes would not be difficult.

“We’re expecting the Vice President to be impeached next week, so the 106 is all but certain. It’s just a question of how many votes we will get, we’re expecting at the very best, it will match the 215 votes in last year’s impeachment,” Ridon said.