Dwayne Pelagio

Vice President Sara Duterte will face her first impeachment complaint as civil society groups and families of extrajudicial killing victims have officially filed at the House of Representatives on Monday.

Photo Courtesy of Inquirer.net.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña endorsed the complaint as he described in a statement as a “critical juncture in our nation's demand for accountability.”

The lawmaker pointed out in an ambush interview that “betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, and other high crimes” were grounds for impeachment of the vice president.

"Vice President Sara Duterte deserves to be impeached for her abuse of power and plunder of the nation's coffers," Cendaña said in a statement.

The solon added that he stands with the “brave citizens” calling for Duterte to address her “blatant violations of the Constitution, egregious corruption, and complicity in mass murder.”

The complainants cited 20 instances where Duterte committed alleged impeachable offenses such as failing to properly account for the 125 million in confidential funds granted to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2022, refusal to attend budget hearings and answer questions regarding the OVP and DepEd budgets, violating the constitutional system of checks and balance, and nearly P7 billion in unliquidated cash advances during her time as DepEd Secretary.

According to Article 11 of the 1987 constitution, a House lawmaker must endorse the impeachment complaint in order for a deliberation to begin in the lower chamber. 

The Constitution requires at least a one-third vote of all House members for the impeachment trial to proceed in the Senate.

"Public office is not a throne of privilege; it is a position of trust,” former Sen.. Leila de Lima, the complainant’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

She further mentioned that the vice president has desecrated that trust with her blatant abuses of power. 

“This impeachment is not just a legal battle but a moral crusade to restore dignity and decency to public service," the former senator added.

The complaint came after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. confirmed a leaked text message on Nov. 29, asking lawmakers to stop any efforts to impeach Duterte, citing that “it will not help any improve a single Filipino life.”

House General Secretary Reginald Velasco formally accepted the complaint on the same day, stating that the lower chamber would proceed to its duties in the impeachment process despite the president’s text message.

“'Yung mga Congressman, kasama ‘yan sa pag-iisipan nila, ‘yung suggestion ni Presidente na sayang ‘yung time ng Kongreso. Kanya-kanyang interpretation ‘yan eh. Mahirap pilitin ang members. Independent naman lahat yan. Dadaan lahat sa proseso,” he added in his statement.

Tensions escalated last week after Duterte revealed in her online press conference on Nov. 22 she had arranged the assassination of Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez should an alleged plan to eliminate her succeeded. 

“Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” she said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started looking into the vice president’s alleged death threats as they sent a subpoena on Nov. 26, ordering Duterte to show up on Nov. 28 to explain her statements.

Citing the late announcement of the House’s rescheduled hearing to pave the way for the NBI investigation, Duterte is rescheduled to appear at the NBI on Dec. 11.

The vice president is facing alleged violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.