MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A lawmaker and a progressive group prefer that one-third of all members of the House of Representatives sign the existing impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, so that procedures can be fast-tracked.
In a message sent to reporters on Monday, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said House Secretary General Reginald Velasco鈥檚 commitment鈥攖hat the three complaints still with his office will be sent to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez鈥攊s already long overdue.
But Castro said it would be better if one-third of all House members or 103 lawmakers just sign the complaints so that it can be sent to the Senate immediately, in accordance with the 1987 Constitution.
READ: De Lima: House delaying impeachment vs VP Sara sends wrong signals
鈥淭hat is long overdue but if 1/3 of congressmen would sign to endorse any of the impeachment complaints before the session ends, then it would go straight to the Senate,鈥� Castro said.
鈥淭hat is why we are still urging our colleagues to sign and endorse our complaint,鈥� she added.
READ: VP Sara Duterte faces 2nd impeachment rap
Progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) meanwhile said that despite Velasco鈥檚 assurance, they also prefer an immediate transmittal of the raps to the Senate.
鈥淲e welcome the long-overdue action on the three impeachment complaints languishing in the office of the House secretary general for two months now. The one action we wish to see is for the immediate transmittal to the Senate of the articles of impeachment by gathering 1/3 vote of the total members of the House,鈥� Bayan said in a separate statement.
鈥楶eople deserve a fast break鈥�
鈥淎s we enter the proverbial 鈥榣ast two minutes鈥� of session at the House, the Filipino people deserve a fast break from their representatives. No more dribbling the ball. Send the articles of impeachment to the Senate this week,鈥� it added.
Bayan and other groups filed the second impeachment complaint against Duterte last December 4, 2024. It was endorsed by Castro and other members of the House鈥檚 Makabayan bloc.
All impeachment complaints must be filed with the House, but there are two ways that a petition can proceed. Under Article XI, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution, a verified complaint can be discussed after the Secretary General forwards it to the Speaker, which in turn sends it to the House committee on rules and the committee on justice.
A vote of at least one-thirds of all House members will then ensure that the complaint would be forwarded to the Senate. However, since such a process will require a long time, the Constitution provides a quicker second method, where the endorsement of a complaint by one-thirds of all House members would allow the immediate convening of a Senate trial.
Previously, Velasco said that there was a group of 12 Majority and Minority lawmakers who signified their intention to file a fourth impeachment complaint against Duterte, with the aim of fast-tracking it.
Velasco noted that he will give this group a chance to gather signatures before he forwards the first three complaints filed last December 2024 to Romualdez鈥檚 office by January 23, 2025.
However, Velasco鈥檚 office has been silent after his own self-imposed deadline passed, leading Castro to claim that she does not feel that there is a petition being prepared.
Earlier, on the sidelines of the House鈥檚 flag raising ceremony, Velasco said that the first three complaints are still with him, but will be forwarded to Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez鈥� office within the week since no fourth complaint has been filed.
Aside from Castro and the Makabayan bloc, different camps have aired their frustration about the lack of action regarding moves to remove Duterte from office. Previously, former senator Leila de Lima said that the House leadership鈥檚 decision to delay the impeachment proceedings might send wrong signals.
De Lima is spokesperson for the first batch of complainants.
Vice President Duterte has faced complaints that were based on the findings of the House committee on good government and public accountability, which investigated accusations that her offices鈥攖he Office of the Vice President (OVP) and previously, the Department of Education (DepEd)鈥攎isused confidential fund (CF) allocations.
Over the course of the panel鈥檚 hearings, it was revealed that some of the acknowledgement receipts (ARs) for the CFs were signed by a certain Mary Grace Piattos鈥攚hich Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop said bears a first name similar to a coffee shop, and a surname that is a famous potato chip brand.
Later on, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong showed two ARs鈥攐ne for OVP and another for the DepEd鈥攚hich were both received by a certain Kokoy Villamin. However, the signatures and handwriting of Villamin differed.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) eventually said that the names Mary Grace Piattos and Kokoy Villamin do not exist within their live birth, marriage, and death registry. Furthermore, PSA said that they have no records of the more than 400 names on the ARs for the DepEd鈥檚 CFs.