Tindig Pilipinas and Akbayan Partylist, along with other citizen complainants, went to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, 20 October 2025, to submit a letter urging action on Vice President Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF).
Kiko Aquino Dy of Tindig Pilipinas said they are hoping Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla will conduct an investigation since impeachment proceedings against the vice president are barred for one year under the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“We went to the lower house, but it seems they waited a long time before elevating the cases to the Senate. In the Senate, they chose not to continue the hearing,” Aquino Dy said in Filipino.
“While we wait for February, we are hoping the Ombudsman can conduct an investigation in the current timeframe before February,” he added.
Recently, Vice President Duterte disclosed that the CIF was used to investigate the P2.4-billion procurement of reportedly outdated and overpriced laptops during the tenure of former Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones.
Aquino Dy said this is one of the issues they want investigated.
“We’re hoping that the Ombudsman can check if the use of CIF really went there (investigation on the procurement of laptops). Then we hope this will be known by our countrymen,” Aquino Dy said in Filipino.
Ombudsman Remulla said Tuesday that he had yet to read the letter and that it would undergo fact-finding. He noted that while an impeachable officer such as the vice president may face charges, the Ombudsman’s office has no authority to remove them from office.
“An impeachable officer can face a case. However, it is not within the authority or power of the Ombudsman to remove them from office. That is why impeachment is the process if we want them removed from office,” Remulla explained.