Another impeachment rap filed vs Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Another impeachment complaint has been filed against Vice President Sara Duterte before the House of Representatives, making this the fourth petition submitted in just the month of February.

Lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera went to the Office of House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil on Wednesday evening to file the complaint against Duterte, based primarily on her threats against ranking officials including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the alleged misuse of confidential funds (CF), non-declaration of her assets, abuse of power, bribery of officials, and others.

Sources privy to the filing told the media that the complaints were endorsed by Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., as shown in photos.  It was received by Garafil.  

Cabrera segregated the grounds for impeachment against Duterte into three categories: culpable violation of the 1987 Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.

Under culpable violation of the Constitution, the following actions are alleged:

• Subversion of constitutional order and the system of lawful succession due to her threats to Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin 
• Circumvention of constitutional accountability for public funds through misuse/diversion of confidential and intelligence funds and obstruction of constitutionally recognized audit and legislative oversight
• Failure to truthfully and fully declare her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth

Betrayal of public trust:

• Abuse of power, cronyism, patronage, and conduct grossly inconsistent with fiduciary obligations, including misuse of CF and a pattern of non-transparency and obstruction of legitimate inquiry
• Public conduct and threats inconsistent with the dignity and duties of a Vice President

Graft and corruption:

• Causing undue injury to the government and/or giving unwarranted benefits through irregular disbursements and anomalous utilization of public funds
• Inducing or causing another public officer to violate rules and regulations

Bribery:

• Acts consistent with covert delivery or distribution of cash to influence official functions

Other high crimes:

• Acts amounting to grave misconduct and/or violations of penal statutes of such gravity

Three impeachment complaints have been filed and are already pending before the Office of House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III.  As the first two complaints — filed by the Makabayan Coalition and civil society groups — were filed on February 2, Dy has four session days left or until March 2 to include the complaints in the Order of Business.

The fourth complaint contains similarities with the first three complaints, which also tackled the CF misuse issue, Duterte’s threats, and the alleged bribery of Department of Education officials.

The filing of the fourth complaint comes hours after Duterte announced that she will be running for president by 2028.  According to Senior Deputy Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor, Duterte’s announcement might impact how lawmakers would vote for any committee report.

Defensor explained that the only thing certain right now is that the three complaints filed against Duterte will go through the House committee on justice. 

This, Defensor said, is due to Duterte’s announcement being a factor on how lawmakers vote regarding the impeachment because the Vice President doing well in surveys is a reality that House members would have to contend with.

READ: Solon: Sara Duterte’s 2028 bid throws impeachment vote into uncertainty

When asked to explain why he feels the voting for Duterte’s impeachment will now be unpredictable when several lawmakers from the 19th Congress who chose to impeach the Vice President are still part of the 20th Congress, Defensor said the two versions of the chamber are “very different.”

Duterte was first impeached last February 5, 2025, after 215 House lawmakers filed and signed a fourth complaint against her.

The Articles of Impeachment were immediately transmitted to the Senate on the same day, as the 1987 Constitution states that a trial must begin forthwith if at least one-third of all House members endorse the complaint.

READ: House impeaches Sara Duterte, fast-tracking transmittal to Senate

But last July 25, the SC announced that the Articles of Impeachment were deemed unconstitutional, for violating the 1987 Constitution’s one-year bar rule.

The House submitted a motion for reconsideration to appeal the case. SC then announced last January 29 that it had dismissed with finality the House’s motion for reconsideration. /jpv