House Declares 2 Impeachment Raps vs. VP Sara Duterte Sufficient in Form
SARA DUTERTE – The camp of the Vice President was asked about the House Justice Committee finding 2 impeachment complaints ‘sufficient in form’.
Four impeachment raps were filed against the Vice President this February. The fourth impeachment complaint was filed against Duterte after she announced that she will run for president in 2028. The complaint was filed by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera before the Office of the House Secretary General.
The fourth impeachment complaint was endorsed by House Deputy Speaker Francisco Paolo Ortega V and Manila City 6th District Representative Bienvenido Abante Jr. The Vice President is facing her fourth impeachment complaint, which accuses her of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, along with other serious offenses.
Ahead of the discussion in the House of Representatives over the impeachment raps filed against Duterte, Tindig Pilipinas which filed the second impeachment complaint withdrew the rap to support the third impeachment complaint filed against the Vice President.
In the third impeachment complaint against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, the following grounds were cited:
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount over PHP 500 million confidential funds (CF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President from 2022 to 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount of not less than PHP 112.5 million of confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the year 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by corrupting and bribing officials of the DepEd
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in contracting to murder or assassinate the president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in amassing unexplained wealth and failing to disclose all her properties and interests in properties in her SALN
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in committing acts of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection
The House Committee on Justice tackled the impeachment raps filed against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte today. The Justice panel set aside the first impeachment complaint against Duterte with a voting result that favored the declaration that the impeach rap violates the one-year rule ban.
With regards to the two (2) other impeachment complaints against Duterte, the House Justice Committee found them sufficient in form. Recently, the Vice President’s camp was asked about the matter.
According to News5, the camp of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte refused to give a comment on the House Justice panel declaring the two (2) impeachment complaints against the Vice President as “sufficient in form”. Based on the post, lawyer Michael Poa said they will only continue to monitor.
“The Defense Team does not see the need to comment at this point. We will simply continue to monitor the proceedings and provide comments if and when necessary,” Poa said.
Aside from the Vice President, impeachment complaints were also filed against the President but it was already junked by the House of Representatives. Previously, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke on the junking of the impeachment raps against him.