Impeachment complaints vs VP Duterte not yet sent to Romualdez 鈥� House
From left to right: President Ferdinand Marcos, Vice President Sara Duterte, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez | PHOTO: AFP, FB pages of Sara Duterte and House of Representatives
MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte have not been forwarded to the Office of the Speaker as other sectors are expected to file their petition, House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Thursday.
During a phone interview with reporters, Velasco was asked why the two impeachment complaints have not yet reached Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s desk.
“Not yet, but we have heard that others would also file impeachment complaints. So we will just do one transmittal to the Speaker,” he explained in Filipino.
“Our legal staff is also studying the complaints filed, if something is lacking, if it was verified, things like that so that the Speaker can decide based on the information we will submit,” he added.
When asked if he has information on the groups that will file a complaint and when it may be filed, Velasco said he does not have any information but lawmakers told him they intend to file or sponsor another impeachment complaint against Duterte.
Article continues after this advertisement“That’s why we are on hold here, we are waiting for today, or Monday, right? But all lawmakers know that December 18 is the last day of the session. And the last day, most of that last week will be devoted to the ratification of the budget,” he added.
Article continues after this advertisementDuterte was slapped with two impeachment complaints on Monday and Wednesday.
The first impeachment complaint was filed by civil society organizations and endorsed by Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña.
The second impeachment complaint was filed by over 70 representatives of progressive groups and was sponsored by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel.
Aside from her threats, among the complaints against Duterte was the alleged misuse of the confidential funds (CF) of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when it was under her watch.
READ: Makabayan willing to work with Akbayan on VP Duterte’s impeachment
In an interview last Monday, former Senator Leila de Lima said that allegations of CF misuse, threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and supposed bribery are among the grounds cited in the first impeachment complaint against Duterte.
“Among the articles are the misuse, the failure to account, the intel and confidential funds of both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and also of the Department of Education (DepEd),” de Lima, who accompanied the complainants, told reporters.
“Also included are other grounds like her threats, her rants during the press conference on October 18 and the second one in November 2024 because these are very unbecoming and these are actually betrayal of public trust [and] because these are also high crimes. These are about her threats during her latest rants, or her meltdown,” she explained.
READ: De Lima: Fund misuse, threats among grounds for impeaching VP Duterte
The CF issues that de Lima was referring to are the admissions of the OVP and DepEd special disbursing officers that they left the disbursement of secret funds to security officers during the hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability.
