Duterte鈥檚 impeachment an initial victory vs corruption 鈥� petitioners
Kabataan Party-List Rep. Sarah Elago. Noy Morcoso/黑料社 FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Different individuals and groups involved in the filing of impeachment raps against Vice President Sara Duterte lauded the House of Representatives’ decision to move with the complaints, calling it an initial victory against corruption and misuse of public funds.
Gabriela party-list nominee and former Kabataan lawmaker Sarah Elago said that while this signals a win for the fight against corruption, the transmittal of the impeachment complaint to the Senate opens up another chapter.
Elago was one of the several individuals who trooped to the House to file the second impeachment complaint against Duterte last December 2024.
“The historic impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte by the House of Representatives is an initial victory for the Filipino people in their relentless fight against corruption and abuse of power. This move is the direct result of mounting public outrage over the misuse of confidential funds and the betrayal of public trust,” Elago said in a statement.
“The transmission of the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate opens a new chapter in our pursuit of accountability. We call on our Senators to fulfill their constitutional duty and conduct a fair, thorough, and transparent impeachment trial,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementBagong Alyansang Makabayan chairperson Teddy Casiño, also one of the complainants, said that progressive groups commend the House for fulfilling its duty to hold officials accountable — even if it came over two months after the first complaints were filed.
Article continues after this advertisement“We commend the members of the House for fulfilling their sacred duty to hold the highest officials of the land accountable for their wrongdoings. While it might have been a buzzer beater, considering that the impeachments were filed back in December, the shift in temperament nailed the accountability of VP Duterte for her misdeeds,” Casiño said.
“With the Articles of Impeachment now in the Senate, we urge the upper body to immediately constitute themselves into an impeachment court to try Duterte for her impeachable acts,” he added.
Former senator Leila de Lima who acts as spokesperson for the first set of complainants also praised the House, while also clarifying that the complaints against Duterte are never personal, but only borne out of a pursuit for accountability.
“Ang impeachment na ito ay hindi personal na laban – hindi ito tungkol lamang kay VP Sara – hindi rin ito dapat tinuturing na pulitika. Ito ay laban ng mamamayang Pilipino sa pang-aabuso, katiwalian, at pagwawalang-bahala sa ating mga institusyon – iyong mga pambabastos, kawalan ng respeto sa mga proseso na nilagay sa ating saligang-batas,” de Lima said.
(This impeachment is not a personal fight — this not only about VP Sara — and this should not be considered as politics. This is a fight of Filipinos against abuse, corruption, and disregard of our institutions — desecration and lack of respect for our processes stated in our Constitution.)
“Maliwanag ang mga paratang laban kay VP Duterte — ang mabilis na paglustay ng milyun-milyong confidential funds nang walang maayos na paliwanag, ang paggamit ng posisyon para sa pansariling interes, at ang lantad na pagtatangkang sirain ang mga prosesong nagsisiguro ng pananagutan sa gobyerno. Malinaw na mga paglabag ito sa Konstitusyon, at tahasang pagtataksil sa tiwalang ibinigay ng taumbayan,” she added.
(The allegations against VP Duterte are clear: the quick expenditures of confidential funds without proper explanation, the use of position for personal interests, and the attempt to destroy processes that ensure accountability in government. It is clear that these are violations of the Constitution, and this is an obvious betrayal of public trust.)
Lawyer Amando Ligutan, counsel for the third batch of complainants, meanwhile reminded people defending Duterte that surveys have shown that more Filipinos are in favor of removing the Vice President from office.
“No, the purpose of her impeachment is to hold the Vice President accountable for her illegal disbursement of the millions of pesos of confidential funds, among other misdeeds,” Ligutan said. “And contrary to their claim, per the latest survey more Filipinos are in favor of impeachment than those opposed to it. Numbers don’t lie.”
On Wednesday, during the last session day before Congress goes on a break for the election season, it was announced that over one-third of all House members have signed and endorsed the impeachment complaint.
Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe moved that additional references of business for the day be read, during which House Secretary General Reginald Velasco announced that a fourth impeachment complaint was filed, which was endorsed by 215 lawmakers who swore before him.
This is way above the minimum requirement under the Constitution for the fast-tracking of complaints, which is one-thirds or 102 of all 306 House members.
With the signatures being more than enough, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez approved the motion to send the impeachment complaints against Duterte to the Senate for a trial.
Issues cited in the previous impeachment raps against Vice President Sara Duterte — her threats against the President and other officials and confidential fund (CF) issues with her offices — were used as grounds for the fourth complaint.
Copies of the fourth impeachment complaint showed that there were seven articles of impeachment:
- Betrayal of public trust, commission of high crimes due to her threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez
- Betrayal of public trust and graft and corruption due to misuse of CFs within the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP)
- Betrayal of public trust and bribery within the DepEd
- Violation of the 1987 Constitution and betrayal of public trust due to unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets
- Commission of high crimes, due to involvement in extrajudicial killings in the drug war
- Betrayal of public trust due to allege destabilization plots and high crimes of sedition and insurrection
- Betrayal of acts due to her unbecoming conduct as Vice President
READ: First impeachment complaint vs VP Sara filed at House
The articles mentioned in the fourth impeachment complaint showed similarities with the first petition, which was filed by 16 members of civil society groups last December 2.
