Vice President Sara Duterte —File photo by Grig C. Montegrande | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — With the filing of a majority-endorsed fourth impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte in the offing at the House of Representatives, Deputy Minority Leader France Castro expects moves to oust the country’s second-highest official will gain momentum.
The ACT Teachers representative said on Sunday the Makabayan bloc could meet on Wednesday with other impeachment complaint endorsers to unify efforts for Duterte’s removal from office.
“We welcome this fourth impeachment complaint,” she said.
“What sets this apart from the previous [impeachment]complaints is the substantial support from the majority coalition members,” she added.
READ: VP Sara Duterte might face 4th impeachment rap – House
While Castro was not privy to specific details of the fourth impeachment complaint anticipated to be filed on Monday, she pointed out that at least 10 representatives aligned with the majority and minority blocs were endorsing it.
“We still don’t know to which sector the complainants belong but what’s important is the unprecedented support it’s getting from our colleagues in Congress,” Castro said.
Such endorsement, she asserted, indicated growing dissatisfaction with Duterte’s performance and spending issues.
The lawmaker said in Filipino, “This level of support is not something to be taken lightly. It reflects serious concerns about VP Sara’s actions and use of confidential funds.”
She was referring to Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds from December 2022 to September 2023 at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education during her tenure as Secretary.
What lawmakers, specifically Makabayan bloc members, found particularly concerning was Duterte’s 11-day spending spree of P125 million of the OVP’s confidential funds in December 2022.
“We await [Monday’s] filing and hope this leads to a faster processing of impeachment complaints against the vice president,” Castro said.
“The allegations should be thoroughly investigated and justice given to the people,” she added in Filipino.
Coordinate efforts
The Makabayan bloc was also inviting other congressmen, who endorsed impeachment complaints against Duterte, to a meeting tentatively set on Wednesday (Jan. 8) to “coordinate efforts in pushing the impeachment because there seems to be a dilly-dallying by the House leadership,” Castro said.
For his part, former ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said that backing for the impeachment complaint from the majority was a very big deal.
“The fact that 10 to 12 representatives are willing to endorse this fourth complaint suggests a possible shift in the House leadership’s stance,” adding, “This is like a go-signal from the majority leadership,” he said.
The three impeachment complaints against Duterte all cited her alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds of the OVP and the Deped.
The initial complaint, filed on Dec. 2 by 16 people belonging to various civil society and advocacy groups as well as kin of victims of the bloody drug war, was endorsed by Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña.
It cited five grounds for impeachment, including:
- culpable violation of the Constitution
- graft and corruption
- bribery
- betrayal of public trust
- other high crimes
The complaint included 24 articles or specific charges including Duterte’s alleged abandonment of her duties during Supertyphoon Carina and leaving for Germany during a crisis, as well as failure to condemn Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
The second complaint, endorsed by the Makabayan bloc lawmakers, was filed on Dec. 4 by more than 70 people from various sectors and only cited the following:
- betrayal of public trust as a ground allegedly shown through Duterte’s “gross abuse of discretionary powers” over P612.5 million in confidential funds from December 2022 until the third quarter of 2023
- “gross disregard” for transparency and accountability
- dereliction of official duty, with her “willful refusal” to recognize congressional oversight and authority to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation
The third filed on Dec. 19 by Catholic priests, lawyers, and civil society leaders also cited five grounds for impeachment:
- culpable violation of the Constitution
- betrayal of public trust
- bribery
- graft and corruption
- other high crimes
This complaint was endorsed by Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. and AAMBIS-OWA Rep. Lex Anthony Cris Colada.
Besides alleged misuse of confidential funds, it also cited the alleged bribery of several DepEd officials, who were given amounts ranging from P12,000 to P50,000 monthly, supposedly to “influence” their decisions on the procurement process when Duterte was secretary.