Two months later, House to move forward with VP Sara’s impeachment this week
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has little time left to act on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, with Congress set to adjourn later this week.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, however, assured on Monday, February 3, that action would be taken before the break. It has been two months since the first impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed.
“It’s still with me but we have to act on it this week. We will act on it this week. Itong week na ito ‘yung deadline (This week will be the deadline),” he said in an ambush interview.
Congress will suspend sessions on February 7, ahead of the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections. It will resume on June 2, leaving lawmakers with less than two weeks before the final adjournment.
Why the delay? Earlier this year, Velasco explained he was waiting for a possible fourth complaint, which he had received reports about, so he could submit it to the House speaker along with the other three.
He said some lawmakers, whom he declined to name, needed more time to decide whether to endorse it.
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Asked about the status of the supposed fourth complaint, Velasco said he had yet to receive it and that no additional lawmakers had endorsed any of the existing complaints.
“We have not received a fourth complaint or additional endorsers of the three complaints,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“I think we have given them enough time, so we will have to transmit the impeachment complaints within this week,” he added.
Makabayan lawmakers have criticized the delay, suggesting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s opposition to the impeachment could have influenced the process.
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Although Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin denied the claims of Marcos blocking impeachment efforts, the president himself previously confirmed having asked House members not to file complaints against Duterte.
Fast-tracking still possible
Despite the limited time left before adjournment, Velasco said the process could still be expedited if enough House members endorse the complaint.
“Because at any time, one-third of the members can endorse it, can sign a complaint in my presence, and it will go straight to the Senate. It will no longer go through the Committee on Justice,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Velasco noted that one-third of the House is equivalent to 103 members. Without this level of support, the complaints will be referred to the justice committee for deliberation before reaching the plenary for voting.
Under House rules, the committee is responsible for “determining whether the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.” If it finds enough evidence, it will hold a hearing and later draft a resolution for the plenary to vote on.
Even then, it would still require one-third approval for Duterte to face trial in the Senate.
According to the Constitution, it would take a year before impeachment proceedings could be initiated again against the same public official.
Basis of impeachment. The vice president has been under public scrutiny due to her alleged misuse of confidential and intelligence funds through the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) in 2022 and 2023.
During the House good government panel’s legislative probe, it was revealed that hundreds of acknowledgment receipts used to justify confidential payments bore typographical errors and the names of individuals not found in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s registry.
The P612.5 million in confidential expenses, of the OVP and DepEd combined, was handled by security officers instead of special disbursing officers, who are responsible for managing the funds and accountable for any misuse.
Several grounds in the impeachment complaints referred to the committee’s findings, which the complainants and endorsers believe constitute a betrayal of public trust.
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