Lawmakers: No one was forced to sign VP Sara Duterte impeachment rap
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro meets with groups and individuals who filed impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte. 黑料社 / Faith Argosino
MANILA, Philippines — No lawmaker was forced to sign the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, members of both the Majority and Minority blocs separately said on Thursday.
In a press briefing in Quezon City, Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said House leaders only explained the contents of the fourth impeachment complaint during the meeting on Wednesday, hours before it was forwarded to the Senate.
READ: VP Duterte impeachment may draw over 103 signatories – Castro
“What happened yesterday, after all the explanation and the expression of support for the fourth impeachment complaint, lawmakers lined up to sign the six copies of the raps. That’s what transpired there; there was no coercion,” she said in Filipino.
“In fact, there are some lawmakers who went there but did not sign the impeachment complaints; nobody forced them,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementFor the Majority side, Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said that claims that lawmakers were forced to sign are false since there are House members who are related to each other but gave varying views on the impeachment.
Article continues after this advertisement“It just goes to show that rumors and fake news [about] lawmakers being forced, or being influenced to sign the impeachment complaint, prove that these are not true and that we decided based on our own reasons and appreciation of the merits of this complaint,” he said in Filipino.
Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Ralph Wendel Tulfo and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Jocelyn Tulfo — son and wife of Sen. Raffy Tulfo — signed and endorsed the impeachment complaint against Duterte.
On the other hand, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo — Sen. Tulfo’s brother — refrained from signing the petition as there is a high chance that he may be elected to the Senate in the May 2025 elections.
Rep. Erwin Tulfo said it means that he might be a senator-judge, and signing the impeachment complaint might lead to impartiality.
READ: Tulfo: Didn’t back Duterte impeachment as I might be senator-judge
Rep. Tulfo is currently leading surveys by both Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations.
READ: Rep. Tulfo, Sotto top choices for 2025 Senate race – survey
During the session on Wednesday, it was announced that 215 lawmakers endorsed the impeachment complaint.
Under the 1987 Constitution, an impeachment complaint could be immediately forwarded to the Senate for trial if over one-third of all House members — 102 out of 306 — have signed and endorsed the petition.
READ: House impeaches VP Sara Duterte, fast-tracking transmittal to Senate
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 confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President
- 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 alleged destabilization plots and high crimes of sedition and insurrection
- Betrayal of public trust due to her unbecoming conduct as Vice President
READ: First impeachment complaint vs VP Sara filed at House
Earlier, 1-Rider party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez said that 24 more lawmakers signed the impeachment complaint, bringing the total to 239. However, it is unclear if the lawmakers would still be included in the official complaint.
