PHL House panel finds ‘substance’ in impeachment raps against VP Duterte

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

A HOUSE of Representatives panel on Wednesday found the impeachment complaints against Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte-Carpio sufficient in “substance,” moving the cases forward to a congressional inquiry that will determine whether the charges should be elevated to the Senate for trial.

The House Justice Committee approved two complaints against Ms. Duterte after earlier striking out one that failed an eligibility test and another withdrawn by its complainants.

“This is about accountability over politics,” House Deputy Speaker and La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V, who sponsored a complaint against the Vice-President, told reporters in mixed English and Filipino after the vote. “The situation is very different now, and all the complaints are very strong.”

The panel’s ruling will advance them to an inquiry that will determine their merits, setting the stage for a protracted debate over charges that have politically weighed on Ms. Duterte and risks reopening a deep political rift with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

The Vice-President’s legal team refrained from commenting on the outcome of the initial proceedings but is reviewing the “actions taken” by the 39-member committee, its spokesman Michael T. Poa said in a statement. The panel ordered Ms. Duterte to respond to the accusations against her within 10 days before moving forward in the process.

Wednesday’s vote comes as Ms. Duterte, who has emerged as a strong contender in election surveys, announced her presidential bid in 2028. Mr. Marcos, who is limited to a single six-year term, is yet to name a clear successor.

Ms. Duterte had earlier survived an impeachment attempt after the Supreme Court struck down last year’s proceedings over procedural flaws.

The Vice-President faces a range of accusations, including claims she misused hundreds of millions of pesos in secret funds under the Office of the Vice-President and the Education department during her tenure as its secretary.

The filings also include accusations she amassed wealth disproportionate to her income, efforts to destabilize the government and plotting to assassinate Mr. Marcos, his wife and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, charges which she has denied.

Four new cases were filed against her after the one-year ban, but one was dismissed over a rule barring impeachable officials from facing multiple ouster complaints. Another was withdrawn by its complainants to fast-track the proceedings.

The third complaint, sponsored by Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Leila M. de Lima, cleared the substance test as 54 lawmakers voted in its favor, with one against.

It accused Ms. Duterte of misusing P500 million in confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice-President from 2022 to 2023, as well as P112.5 million allotted to the Department of Education during her time as its secretary.

“There is no doubt for me that our complaint is really sufficient in both form and substance,” she told reporters, whose charges also include accusations that Ms. Duterte plotted to undermine the government.

A fourth complaint backed by Mr. Ortega and Manila Rep. Bienvenido M. Abante, Jr., which raised similar allegations, also passed the committee’s initial assessment with 54 affirmative votes, and one against. Their filing also accused the Vice-President of failing to fully disclose assets in her statements of net worth.

Batangas Rep. Gerville R. Luistro, who heads the Justice committee, explained in a media briefing the panel also counted votes of ex-officio members, including deputy speakers and majority and minority leaders, on top of the 39 listed members.

The Justice panel will now examine the “discussion of actual facts” in its succeeding hearings rather than the technicalities the complaints underwent in the initial step of the impeachment process, Party-list Rep. Terry L. Ridon said.

“There are now testimonies and documents that could be sourced from resource persons and offices,” he said in the same briefing.

Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said the overwhelming vote favoring the complaints shows the House remains aligned with the Marcos administration.

“Many members may view their vote not as a political verdict against the Vice-President, but as allowing the constitutional process to take its course,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “At the same time, the tally does suggest that the chamber remains broadly aligned with the leadership, at least at this early procedural stage.”

Mr. Marcos survived an impeachment attempt last month after his allies in the House voted to dismiss the complaints, ruling they lacked substance.