House exec gets word on 4th impeach rap vs VP Duterte

Vice President Sara Duterte. PHOTO FROM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte may be facing a fourth impeachment complaint next week, according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco whose office is already under pressure to act on the first three complaints upon resumption of congressional session on Jan. 13.

In a message to the Inquirer, Velasco confirmed that some House members “told me in confidence that they are thinking of endorsing one of the three impeachment complaints filed earlier, or another complaint, which in effect would be the fourth impeachment complaint.”

READ: VP Sara Duterte might face 4th impeachment rap – House

A fourth complaint, he said, might be filed anytime next week.

The House members who told him of this plan, Velasco said, were “from the majority.”

The first three complaints, filed within days of each other in December 2024, were filed by civil society members and endorsed by minority lawmakers.

Should an administration lawmaker endorse a complaint, it would run counter to President Marcos’ instructions to his allies, including in the House led by his cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, not to prioritize the impeachment moves against Duterte as these would detract from the objectives of his administration.

10 session days

Velasco did not name the majority bloc lawmakers who contacted him but said further action would depend on the filing of the fourth complaint.

Under the rules, the House secretary-general and the speaker have 10 session days to act on an impeachment complaint before it is forwarded to the House committee on rules, which would then refer it to the committee on justice during a plenary session.

The first impeachment complaint, filed by civil society groups and endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendana, was filed three session days before Congress adjourned on Dec. 18 last year; suspended sessions are not counted.

‘Continuing consultations’

Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro confirmed that the Makabayan bloc—which endorsed the second impeachment complaint—was planning to call a meeting among the impeachment complainants and endorsers.

“There are already continuing consultations with impeachment teams, but we will set a bigger meeting next week,” she said. “The agenda would be to find a common course of action to push the House leadership to expedite its action on the impeachment complaints and to call on President [Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.] not to interfere with the impeachment.”

Must do duty

Castro said the House would have to act on the complaints soon or “Congress will be remiss in its duty.”

All three impeachment complaints are anchored on Duterte’s alleged misuse of confidential funds as Vice President and as then education secretary from 2022 to 2023, which were investigated by the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua.

They differ, however, in the grounds cited for impeachment. The first and the third complaints, filed by members of religious, laity, and lawyer groups and endorsed by Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado, cited culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

The second complaint focused only on the betrayal of public trust as grounds for impeachment.