3rd impeachment complaint filed vs VP Sara

MANILA, Philippines — A third impeachment complaint has been filed against Vice President Sara Duterte, this time by a group of lawyers and clergy, citing as grounds her misuse of hundreds of millions of pesos of her confidential funds, including when she was secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

Lead counsel of the complainants Amando Virgil Ligutan said they filed the third impeachment case against the Vice President for her “culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, plunder, malversation and technical malversation, and betrayal of public trust.”

The 12 complainants were priests from the Diocese of Novaliches, as well as from the Carmelites, and the Congregation of the Mission. The other complainants were from the Union of Lawyers of Mindanao.

Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado and AAMBIS-OWA party-list Rep. Lex Anthony Cris Colada endorsed the third impeachment complaint against Duterte.

Ligutan said they based their complaint on the result of the hearings conducted by the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Manila Rep. Joel Chua on Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and DepEd.

“We have two endorsements from the congressmen. The impeachment complaint is based on how the Vice President illegally disbursed the confidential funds entrusted by the Republic of the Philippines to her,” he said.

“This is based on the fact of the disbursement of the confidential fund, the disbursement was not properly done. The use of fictitious individuals,” he added.

He said that Duterte’s failure to account for the P500 million confidential funds of the OVP and the P112.5 million of the DepEd “constitutes ground for her impeachment as the sitting vice president.”

‘Moral obligation’

He maintained that unlike the filing of the first two impeachment complaints, theirs was propelled by their “moral obligation” to do so.

“What makes this complaint different from the first two already filed impeachment complaints is that these lawyers believe that with what transpired and with what the public saw during the committee hearings, it’s no longer just the legal and constitutional obligation of the members of the House of Representatives to impeach and for the Senate to remove from office the sitting vice president of the Republic of the Philippines, it has now become their moral obligation to do so,” Ligutan stressed.

Civil society groups led by Akbayan filed the first complaint. The House Makabayan bloc filed its own days later.

The complainants in the latest impeachment case cited numerous revelations during congressional hearings, like security personnel being entrusted with staggering amounts of cash withdrawn from banks as well as funds being transferred to individuals with spurious identities or with fake signatures.

“If this Honorable House of Representatives allows the Vice President to get away with what she did, what is stopping other less ethical public officials from misappropriating millions and millions of hard-earned public money by the mere flimsy excuse that disposition be confidential?” the third complaint read.

“Impeachment is the necessary, ultimate line of defense against corruption at the highest rungs of officialdom. She cannot be vice president a minute longer,” the complaint read.

The complainants include Fr. Antonio Labiao and Fr. Joel Saballa of the Diocese of Novaliches; Carmelite priests Fr. Rico Ponce, Fr. Dionisio Ramos and Fr. Esmeraldo Reforeal; Fr. Daniel Pilario of the Congregation of Mission; Simon Serrano, founder of Stop Corruption Philippines; Wilfredo Villanueva, lead founder of the Stand Up for God Rosary Group and member Pinky Tam; Maria Loreto Lopez, co-founder of the Matina Community Pantry, and lawyer Shanelle Aubrey Gianina Gomez.

Under the 1987 Constitution, Speaker Martin Romualdez has a maximum of 10 session days to include an impeachment complaint in the order of business in the plenary and a maximum of three session days to refer it to the House justice committee.

Accountability

Bordado, meanwhile, said the pressing need for accountability among officials made him decide to endorse the third complaint.

“This decision is not made lightly, but with a deep sense of responsibility to ensure accountability at the highest levels of government,” he said.

He said Duterte’s meltdown last month that saw her cussing live on video and threatening to have President Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos and Romualdez killed only heightened the justification for her impeachment.

“Such conduct undermines public trust, threatens the stability of our democratic system, and sets a dangerous precedent for behavior unbecoming of a public official,” Bordado, House assistant minority leader, explained.

In a statement, Bordado cited the need to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of democratic institutions. He said Duterte’s “deeply troubling” actions and statements were definitely grounds for her impeachment.

He also pointed to Duterte’s refusal to appear before legislative inquiries into allegations of fund misuse and her abrupt resignation as education secretary. He argued that these actions had further eroded confidence in her capacity to serve with transparency and integrity.

“Her inflammatory statements and apparent disregard for transparency and due process constitute grounds for impeachment,” he said, adding that the move is not a partisan attack but a constitutional mechanism to address significant breaches of public trust.

“No one – regardless of rank or political influence – is above the law,” he said.