House answers VP Sara: Auditing your secret funds not tied to impeachment plot

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Wednesday again denied Vice President Sara Duterte's allegation that the lower chamber is preparing an impeachment case against her, saying that efforts to access the audit report of her confidential and intelligence expenditures are "part of the regular budgeting process."

During a press conference, Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega (La Union, 1st District) also challenged Duterte to name her "friends" in the House who informed her of the alleged impeachment case being readied against her. 

"Perhaps she should just identify her friends who made the claims so that those friends can confirm if the information they are receiving from the grapevine is correct. But here in the House of Representatives, nothing of that sort is being discussed," the House assistant majority leader said.

This comes after Duterte said in a press conference on Tuesday that House lawmakers are eyeing to impeach her using the findings of the Commission on Audit on the confidential and intelligence expenses of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education from 2022 to 2023. 

The vice president said her "friends" in the House, who are remaining silent "out of fear," informed her that the impeachment plan is being talked about openly. 

Makabayan bloc lawmakers, including Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers), moved to subpoena the Commission on Audit last week to submit its audit reports on OVP and DepEd's confidential and intelligence expenses to the powerful House appropriations committee. 

Duterte called the move a "play" by Castro and argued that it was out of the scope of the lower chamber to request a copy of the audit report. 

"The audit isn't even finished yet. But we already know what they're aiming for—it's their attempt to discredit me," the vice president said in Filipino.

Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong (Lanao del Sur, 1st District) said that there is "no current indication" that the release of the audit report will lead to an impeachment complaint against Duterte. 

House deputy majority leader Rep. Janette Garin said Castro's intention appears to be merely to ensure that the secret funds are spent appropriately. "When I listened to her and spoke with her on the sidelines, [it's because] she wanted to establish safeguards on where confidential funds should be spent," Garin said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Impeaching public officials is "not only divisive, but also coounter-productive" and not aligned with the priorities of the lower chamber, Adiong added. 

"It's not only burdensome resource-wise, but it’s also politically unwise that everything we do in the House of Representatives will be countered just because we need to focus on a certain issue that has no basis or that's not really talked about here," the House muslim affairs committee chairperson added.
 
Both Garin and Rep. Rodge Gutierrez (1-Rider) said the House will "cross the bridge when we get there." 

Gutierrez added that lawmakers can't speculate on what the COA report might reveal, but that impeachment has strict requirements. "It's not something that happens just because a violation is found; it requires a formal process and a vote by Congress," he said in Filipino.

Last week, key members of the House of Representatives denied allegations of an impeachment plot against Duterte, with Ortega saying that lawmakers are strictly "sticking to the issues in the House of Representatives."

Their statements were in response to allegations made by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who said he heard of the impeachment plan from his "classmates" in the 17th Congress.

Similar rumors of a plan to impeach Duterte were floated in November 2023 after the vice president drew widespread flak for her request and use of confidential and intelligence funds. 

At the time, House leaders were quick to deny the rumor and call it "fake news."

The impeachment process for an elected official begins in the House of Representatives when a complaint is filed by any member of the chamber or by a citizen, endorsed by a member of the House.

A third of all votes is required to approve the impeachment complaint before it is sent to the Senate for trial.