House lawmakers receive Duterte impeachment articles ahead 11 May vote

Lawmakers at the House of Representatives have been provided with copies of the Justice panel’s committee report and the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte ahead of the expected 11 May plenary vote for transmittal to the Senate.

During the plenary session last Wednesday, House Deputy Majority Leader Ernesto Dionisio Jr. announced that the House Secretary General had furnished electronic and printed copies of Committee Report No. 261 and House Resolution No. 989 to all members of Congress.

Dionisio also stated that downloadable forms of the aforementioned documents were uploaded to the official website of the House.

Under the resolution, the Articles of Impeachment contained the alleged crimes committed by Duterte that were supported by evidence presented during the clarificatory hearings of the House Committee on Justice in previous weeks.

What had initially begun as four separate complaints on 2 March were then narrowed down to two after the committee agreed that both had sufficiency in form and substance.

Following its finding of probable cause in the accusations, the complaints were subsequently consolidated through a motion by Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila De Lima, the sponsor of the complaint submitted by members of the clergy.

Among the allegations cited in the complaints were Duterte’s misuse of confidential funds under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and during her time as Education Secretary, the accumulation of unexplained wealth, and verbal threats directed toward high-ranking officials.

These were later condensed into four Articles of Impeachment as indicated in HR 989 and signed by a total of 57 solons.

Article I

The first article detailed the alleged commission by the Vice President of graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust through the misappropriation and irregular liquidation of ₱500 million in confidential funds under the OVP and ₱112.5 million at the Department of Education.

According to the Commission on Audit (COA), confidential funds are budget allocations under the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA) primarily used for surveillance and intelligence activities.

This type of funding requires the approval of the President in order for it to be released and used for its designated purpose.

Based on the resolution, despite not necessarily being part of her duties, Duterte had requested such appropriations from the start of her term.

“At the very outset of her tenure, although the conduct of surveillance activities was not part of the mandate of her office, respondent [Duterte] sought access to confidential funds, requesting for substantial allocations for the Office of the Vice President,” the resolution noted.

The issue reportedly further arose from the rapid disbursement of the funding and the lack of credible documentation to support it.

Her supposed bagman, Ramil Madriaga, also testified before the committee on 14 April that he had personally delivered OVP funds to areas in Laguna and Quezon City to unidentified individuals.

COA has since issued various Notices of Disallowance, with the most recent order requiring the return of ₱73.28 million to the government.

Article II

In the second article, the committee laid out issues pertaining to the Vice President’s unexplained wealth, failure to fully disclose her and her husband Atty. Mans Carpio’s resources through her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN), and failure to divest from her businesses upon assuming the role of Vice President in 2022.

On the issue of wealth, evidence suggested that Duterte had allegedly amassed income disproportionate to her earnings as a public official, with her net worth gradually increasing by millions from 2007 to 2024.

Questions regarding the previous allegation trickled down to the issue of SALN disclosure as Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon pointed out during one of the hearings that Duterte had a significant net worth without indicating the amount of her cash on hand and cash in deposit since 2019.

This was then supported by reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that revealed Duterte and Carpio had bank transactions despite the lack of declaration.

As for the latter concern, under Section 13 of the Constitution, officials such as the President, Vice President, cabinet members, and their assistants are prohibited from holding other offices or being employed by other companies during their tenure.

Based on the findings of the Justice panel, Duterte had maintained a 20 percent ownership stake and served as a director of Metro City Chow Foods Corporation while serving as Vice President of the Philippines.

Article III

Regarding the third article of impeachment, testimonies from former DepEd Usec. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado during hearings of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability revealed that the Vice President allegedly distributed cash as bribes in exchange for favorable decisions under her position.

“The circumstances under which the envelopes were given indicate that they were intended to influence her [Mercado] decision as HOPE, as the official responsible for approving all the decisions of the Bids and Awards Committee on behalf of the DepEd Secretary,” the resolution stated.

“In fact, when Usec. Mercado refused to heed the request of Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac, a close associate of respondent [Duterte], to disregard procurement rules, Usec. Mercado was urged by then Vice Presidential Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez to tender her resignation,” it added.

Aside from Mercado, DepEd Director IV Resty Oasis and DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan testified to receiving envelopes of cash, grants that were not given prior to the release of confidential funds.

Such actions were said to constitute criminal acts such as direct bribery and betrayal of public trust, and violate the constitutional mandate for public officials to serve the public with utmost responsibility and integrity.

Article IV

For the final article, Duterte was said to have committed high crimes through her verbal threats toward President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

In the video of an online media briefing on 23 November 2024, the Vice President was quoted as saying that she had already contacted an individual to assassinate the high-ranking officials in the event that she herself would be killed.

“May kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM si Liza Araneta at si Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” Duterte mentioned.

(I’ve talked to someone. I told them that if I get killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke)

“Nag-bilin na ako ma’am. Pag mamatay ako, sabi ko, huwag ka tumigil hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila and then he said yes,” she added.

(I’ve left instructions. If I get killed, I told them, don’t stop until you kill them and then he said yes)

Based on the investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation, the utterances reportedly warranted cases for grave threats and inciting to sedition to be filed against the Vice President.

The resolution noted that Duterte, as well as her family, established a pattern of public statements and conduct that threatened the President.