House impeaches Duterte

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Vice President Sara Duterte holds a virtual briefing in November 2024, where she issued a supposed kill threat to the First Family. (NewsWatch Plus/File)

Metro Manila, Philippines - The House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Feb. 5, the last session day before Congress goes on a four-month break for the elections.

The Senate received the complaint in the same afternoon and adjourned without discussing the articles of impeachment. This is the first time a Philippine vice president was impeached.

During the plenary session, House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco announced that 215 lawmakers signed a fourth impeachment complaint, exceeding the required one-third signatures of representatives for the case to be automatically transmitted to the Senate for trial.

“There is a motion to direct the secretary general to immediately endorse to the Senate the impeachment complaint having been filed by more than one-third of the membership of the House or a total of 215 members. Is there any objection? The chair hears none. The motion is approved. The secretary general is so directed,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said.

Graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes were the grounds of the articles of impeachment.

Ilocos Rep. Sandro Marcos and Romualdez - son and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., respectively - were among those who lodged the complaint.

The case revolved around Duterte’s threat to the lives of the president, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Romualdez; the vice president’s supposed mismanagement of ₱612.5-million confidential funds; bribery and corruption; unexplained wealth and failure to disclose properties and interests; alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings; and destabilization.

The House elected the following as prosecutors in the trial:

+ Rep. Jinky Luistro

+ Rep. Romeo Acop

+ Rep. Rodge Gutierrez

+ Rep. Joel Chua

+ Rep. Jil Bongalon

+ Rep. Loreto Acharon

+ Rep. Marcelino Libanan

+ Rep. Arnan Panaligan

+ Rep. Ysabel Maria Zamora

+ Rep. Lorenz Defensor

+ Rep. Keith Flores

In December, three impeachment complaints endorsed by six lawmakers were filed against Duterte for a number of grounds, including plunder, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust.

The complainants cited Duterte's supposed mismanagement of the ₱612.5-million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Education Department, of which she was secretary until last year.

The House agreed to archive the three cases.