The move to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte is at a standstill, as the first three verified complaints against her had not secured the necessary endorsements to advance in Congress.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco on Saturday said the current level of support for the complaints was insufficient to move them forward. This has raised doubts about the initiatives gaining enough momentum before Congress takes a break in February.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly discouraged his allies in the House of Representatives from pursuing the ouster of Duterte.
In his latest comment on the issue, Mr. Marcos said it would not be practical to push for her impeachment citing the “very poor” timing.
This after Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile warned Wednesday against a “very detrimental precedent,” if the country followed the implied logic of religious group Iglesia ni Cristo’s recent nationwide rallies, which were held in support of Marcos’s objection to Duterte’s impeachment.
In a radio interview, Velasco revealed that only six lawmakers so far had endorsed the impeachment complaints which need 154 votes, or one-third of the total membership of the House, to advance to the committee level, which is the first step in the intricate process.
“With the present support of just six endorsers, nothing will happen. Even at the Committee on Justice level, where a simple majority is needed, these complaints cannot progress without significantly more backing,” Velasco said.
The verified complaints stemmed from allegations Duterte had misused the confidential funds of her office and the DepEd and her hiring of an assassin to kill the President, First Lady Liza Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“There’s no restriction on filing additional complaints, but if the first three cases are submitted now without sufficient endorsements, they’ll likely be dismissed in the Committee on Justice or in the plenary,” Velasco said.
Aside from the President’s position, Velasco believes the lack of momentum is partly due to the upcoming election season, with lawmakers’ attention fixed on their campaigns.
The House’s tight timeline leaves little room for extended deliberations, with Velasco warning that if the complaints fail to gain traction, their proponents would have to wait another year to file new cases under House rules.
The fourth impeachment complaint, reportedly a consolidated effort by additional endorsers, has yet to be filed.
Velasco confirmed that some House members requested more time to prepare the complaint, believing a unified case might stand a better chance of gaining broader support.