Members of the House of Representatives belied for the nth time Vice President Sara Duterte's direct accusations that there are ongoing efforts in the chamber to impeach her.
In a taped interview released on Wednesday, Duterte said the plot to oust her from the country's second-highest post has been "openly" discussed in the House. She pointed an accusing finger at Castro for being "at the center" of the impeachment efforts.
However, in a press conference on Wednesday, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong categorically denied Duterte's allegation.
“Very simple, hindi po totoo iyan (That is not true),” said Adiong, the budget sponsor of Duterte’s office for 2025.
1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ramon Gutierrez seconded Adiong, saying that any talk of unseating her originated solely from Duterte herself.
"I have heard talks of impeachment, but coming from her. We don't hear it here in Congress. I can guarantee that," Guttierez chimed in.
In the recorded interview, Duterte said, "To recall, in November 2023, France Castro was already talking about my impeachment. She gave grounds for the impeachment complaint they are supposed to file. The impeachment is constantly being discussed openly in the House of Representatives."
Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, a known close ally of the Dutertes, said the purported impeachment is "deeply concerning" considering that he "[does] not doubt the capability of the House of Representatives to impeach the Vice President."
"This move is largely driven by petty political ambitions rather than genuine governance concerns. It reeks of an attempt to eliminate a perceived political rival rather than serving the interests of the Filipino people," Alvarez stressed.
The former speaker, who once shared a bitter feud with the VP, asserted that it would be the "height of recklessness for Congress" to impeach a Vice President who was put into power by 32 million Filipinos—the highest vote ever in the country's history.
"To challenge this mandate through an impeachment, based on shallow political grounds, is a direct affront to the sovereign will of the people... The country risks descending into chaos if this reckless political move proceeds," he stressed.
Political suicide
"Thus, an impeachment, within this context, is political suicide for the administration and chaotic for the nation," Alvarez lamented.
During the initial budget deliberation of her office on 27 August, Duterte directly told House members that she was well-informed that talks to impeach her "have been going on for several months now."
She alleged that a few members of the House, who have "either recorded conversations or participated in shared conversations," confirmed the ongoing plot to overthrow her.
House leaders, however, have dismissed the allegations as mere intrigue.
Speculations about Duterte's impeachment first circulated in mid-2023, at the heels of the controversy over the alleged irregular transfer of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s office of P125 million in confidential funds to the OVP without "congressional authorization."
In November last year, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro, a staunch critic of the VP, disclosed that there was an informal discussion in the House to have Duterte ousted following their fiery exchange over the chamber's decision to strip the VP of her pursuit of P650 million secret funds in the 2024 budget.
Castro later described the talks as "premature."
In late August, after Duterte failed to defend to lawmakers how she spent P125 million of her secret funds in 2022, of which over P73 million was disallowed by the Commission on Audit, Castro formally announced it was already "grounds" for her impeachment.
"Her misuse of confidential funds is an impeachable offense," Castro asserted.
The P125 million, which the OVP spent in 11 days in 2022, was part of the P221.42 million contingent fund of Marcos' office transferred to Duterte's office as secret funds.
Opposition lawmakers earlier insinuated that this was unconstitutional because there was no line item for it in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.
The rift between Duterte and the House supermajority bloc—who were once allied with her—further sparked after she left the Marcos Cabinet in June as secretary of the Department of Education.