House panel convenes to decide on Sara Duterte impeachment case
MANILA, Philippines — A House of Representatives committee convened on Monday to decide whether to advance impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, who is accused of graft, constitutional violations, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.
The House committee on justice is expected to vote on its report and the accompanying articles of impeachment against Duterte, determining whether to send them to the plenary for debate by the 318-member chamber and move the charges one step closer to a Senate trial.
Only a majority vote by the House committee is needed to approve the resolution setting out the impeachment articles. Last week, 53 lawmakers unanimously found probable cause in the complaints against Duterte.
READ: ‘Records, not opinions’: VP impeach raps set for plenary
About 80 congressmen were named as co-authors of the draft impeachment resolution seen by the Inquirer. With 88 signatories in total, the House might only need 18 more votes in the floor to reach the threshold to send the charges to the Senate, provided all listed members maintain their support.
At least 106 lawmakers must vote in favor of the complaints before they can be transmitted to the Senate, which will sit as an impeachment court. A conviction there could remove Duterte from office and bar her from holding elected posts again.
The push to impeach Duterte is the latest development in the country’s volatile and turbulent political scene, as she remains locked in a clash with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., a former ally with whom she ran on a joint ticket and won by a landslide in 2022.
Duterte, 47, has emerged as an early favorite for the 2028 presidential election, which Marcos cannot contest as he is constitutionally barred from seeking another term. That has raised the stakes in the proceedings as Marcos has yet to anoint a successor to try to keep Duterte from ascending into power.
Duterte faces impeachment amid allegations she misused P612.5 million in confidential funds released to her office and the Education department when she was its secretary. A Commission on Audit notice had already flagged the way she had spent the funds, and had ordered its return to government coffers.
The Vice President has also been accused of amassing wealth beyond what her declared income would allow and of plotting against Marcos and members of his family. Allegations against her further include claims she sought to destabilize the government.
A report of bank transactions presented to the House committee had shown billions of pesos flowing through Duterte’s accounts that did not match her annual declared wealth.
Investigators also said the threat made by the Vice President to the Marcos family was a credible security risk. /jpv
