The House of Representatives has breached its own rules by stalling the three impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, with Speaker Martin Romualdez’s imprimatur a major factor contributing to the delay, a political analyst said Sunday.
The three petitions were filed before the House — dominated by Duterte’s critics — as early as December. However, after more than a month, none of them has yet been transmitted to Romualdez’s office, narrowing the chances of making it to the Senate for trial.
Lawyer Michael Henry Yusingco, an independent policy analyst and constitutionalist, pointed out that House Secretary General Reginald Velasco has “no authority” to delay the transmittal of the complaints and that the same rules apply to Romualdez.
“There is indeed a non-compliance with the very rules of the House regarding impeachment. According to their rules, the moment the Sec Gen. receives an impeachment complaint, immediately is the word they used, [so] immediately it must be sent to the office of the Speaker, and the Speaker has 10 days to schedule this in the order of business,” Yusingco said in a radio interview in a mix of Filipino and English.
He continued, “[These] are clearly not being followed because right now, there are three impeachment complaints that are still pending in the office of the Sec Gen. which should not be… Unless, of course, he found the petition unverified.”
Velasco earlier confirmed that all the complaints are verified and are ready to be transmitted to Romualdez’s office “anytime.” Despite this, they remain pending in his office, citing a possible fourth petition in view of consolidating the same into one.
The looming petition is expected to come from lawmakers from the majority bloc, who are reportedly aiming to get the required one-third of votes to expedite the complaints to the Senate. The first three, meanwhile, were all endorsed by opposition solons.
Running out of steam
Yusingco claimed that although President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. broke the principle of separation of powers by discouraging the members of the House from supporting the impeachment efforts against Duterte, such a call left a strong impression in the minds of lawmakers, who would not want to bypass him.
But more than that, he said Romualdez, being a cousin of Marcos, remains a major cause that the attempt to remove Duterte from office is still at a standstill.
"Of course, this dovetails with the fact that the Speaker of the House and the President are cousins, and they are very close. Perhaps the Speaker, even though the subject of the impeachment is his [political] enemy, is having second thoughts if he will oppose his cousin's [position]," Yusingco narrated.
"The critical factor here is the Speaker, [who] will determine this impeachment. If he said so, then it will continue. If the Speaker doesn't want it, it will not proceed," he added.
For their own advantage
Yusingco stressed that while impeachment is a constitutional process, it also involves political considerations. Critics have alleged that members of Congress are merely shying away from openly endorsing the impeachment efforts for fear that Duterte might go after them should she become the next president.
Duterte and Romualdez are perceived as front-runners for the 2028 presidential elections. The VP did not divulge what position she is vying for, but she had made it clear that she is “seriously considering” running in the national polls. She also leads several surveys for preferred successors of Marcos.
Romualdez, on the other hand, has repeatedly maintained that he has no ambition for the highest post and is already planning to retire from politics.
Incumbent’s advantage
Yusingco, nevertheless, is confident that House lawmakers will theoretically support the Speaker over the VP, citing Romualdez’s connection with Marcos, having the upper hand in the next elections.
In politics, incumbents have always enjoyed a big advantage over their political rivals, and that’s among the reasons why re-election rates are so eminent.
Yusingco asserted that while a recent Social Weather Stations survey showed that 41 percent of Filipinos are in favor of Duterte’s ouster, lawmakers will not be encouraged by it as their sole objective is not to hold her criminally liable for the purported plunderous acts she committed involving her multi-million confidential funds.
“It has to do only with preventing her from running as president in 2028. If their goal is to hold her criminally liable, then the most viable option is to go directly to the Ombudsman and file a plunder [complaint],” he averred.
If Duterte gets impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, she will face perpetual disqualification from holding any public office.
The Makabayan bloc, the endorsers of the second impeachment petition, has criticized Velasco for dilly-dallying the transmittal of the petitions to Romualdez, given that they are already racing against time due to the upcoming mid-term elections.
Based on Congress’ calendar, lawmakers have only six session days left before they will go on another break on February 7 for the start of the campaign season. The session will only resume on June 2, after the May 12 elections. The 19th Congress will adjourn on June 13 thereafter.
The time constraint is being viewed as a potential hitch that could hamper the bid to dethrone Duterte.
The embattled VP faces three impeachment complaints, all accusing her of culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust—all grounds for impeachment except for treason.
The complainants, coming from multi-sectoral groups, heavily anchored on findings by the House committee on good government and public accountability, which investigated alleged irregularities in Duterte's use of P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million for the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million for the Department of Education during her tenure as its head.
While the VP has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, she remains unfazed, viewing the impending trial as an opportunity to “exclusively” address the corruption allegations leveled against her.