2 Impeachment Raps vs. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte Declared Sufficient in Form, Substance
SARA DUTERTE – The Vice President has yet to file her pleading on the impeachment complaints launched against her in the House of Representatives.
Ahead of the lifting of ban in February, impeachment complaints have started coming after Vice Pres. Duterte. Within a month, four (4) impeachment raps were filed against the Vice President before the Office of the Secretary General of the House of Representatives.
The 4th impeachment complaint against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte came shortly after she announced her decision to run for president in 2028. According to the Vice President and her camp, they’re expecting the impeachment raps.
Vice Pres. Duterte even claimed that she has talked to her legal team way before a fresh impeachment complaint was filed against her. The complainants of the second impeachment rap withdrew the complaint and threw their support to the third impeachment complaint.
Here are the grounds cited in the third impeachment rap against the Vice President:
- 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 Justice panel set aside the first impeachment complaint against Duterte for violating the one year rule ban. It found the other two impeachment raps sufficient in form and substance.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is given 10 days to answer to the impeachment complaints. However, based on News5, the Vice President has yet to respond to the impeachment raps despite the looming deadline.
The deadline for the filing of her pleading is on Monday, March 16. According to the report, if the Vice President fails to submit a pleading on or before the deadline set, the House committee will take it as a move to surrender her right to answer to the impeachment raps filed against her.
According to Duterte, she has already chosen the lawyers who will defend her in the impeachment complaints filed against her. Amid the impeachment moves, the National Unity Party or NUP remains firm in its stand over the impeachment complaints against Duterte.