25 more House members want to sign impeachment case

Metro Manila, Philippines - Twenty-five more House members want to sign the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, a lawmaker said.

In an interview on Thursday, Feb. 6, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong said the 25 are either overseas or in their home provinces. He added that they have sent verification documents to sign the document.

The House of Representatives has transmitted to the Senate the articles of impeachment filed by 215 lawmakers, way beyond the needed one-third signatures for immediate submission to the Senate.

“It’s more than the required number of signatures for the plenary - to act on the impeachment complaint directly to the plenary,” Adiong said.

“The decision of whether or not they would be allowed to be amended into the complaint as additional complainants will depend on the rules of the Senate,” said 1-Rider party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez, one of the impeachment prosecutors.

Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos - cousin and son of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., respectively - were among the signatories.

The grounds of impeachment are graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes.

It was the first time a vice president has been impeached.