Impeach complaints vs VP Sara Duterte transmitted to Office of House Speaker

Vice President Sara Duterte gestures during a press briefing at the Cybergate building in Mandaluyong City on September 25, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — The two impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte have been transmitted to the Office of the House Speaker on Thursday afternoon, according to House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil.

On Monday, two groups filed the complaints, citing alleged betrayal of public trust among grounds.

"Upon receipt and verification of the complaints and their accompanying endorsements, the Office of the Secretary General forwarded the documents to the Office of the Speaker for appropriate action,” Garafil said.

Under the House Rules, the House Speaker has 10 session days to include the impeachment complaints against Duterte to the House plenary’s order of business.

The first complaint, filed by members of the Makabayan coalition, accused the Vice President of betrayal of public trust over alleged misuse of confidential funds. The second complaint, filed by civil society group leaders accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

House Deputy Minority Leader and ML Party List Representative Leila de Lima, who endorsed the second complaint, welcomed the development. She expressed confidence their complaint will hurdle the initial deliberations of the  House Committee on Justice.

“Confident na confident po ako na makakapasa yung impeachment complaint na aking inendorso along with Akbayan Party List Representative Perci Cendaña.. Sinabi doon na mayroon na siyang hinire na assassin para gawin ‘yung kanyang utos na ipapatay ‘yung Pangulo, ‘yung First Lady, and ‘yung former Speaker. Napakalakas po ng ground na ‘yan… The proof there is her own words,” De Lima said.

THIRD COMPLAINT?

Another group is planning to file a third impeachment complaint against Duterte on Monday, February 9th.

House Committee on Justice Chairperson Gerville Luistro said such complaints may still be filed until the House plenary refers the pending complaints to her committee. The referral to the House Committee on Justice will trigger the “initiation” of the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President and the one-year ban on subsequent complaints.

Panel member, Bicol Saro Party List Representative Terry Ridon, and De Lima echoed this view.

“If indeed, mayroon pang gustong mag-file ng complant… So long as wala pang nare-refer sa Justice Committee, they are still free to do so. Wala pang nag-o-operate na one-year prohibition period,” Luistro explained.

“Pwede pang maghintay kung mayroon pang iba dyan. And ang balita ko nga, may narinig ako, mayroon daw pangatlo na impeachment complaint na ifa-file ata sa Monday… Kung ifa-file sa Monday, it's still well within the 10 session day period within which the House Speaker would have it included in the Order of Business. So wala ka pang nalalabag dyan na patakaran,” De Lima, for her part, said.

Ridon noted that until the impeachment proceedings are officially “initiated”, the possibility of at least a third of House members filing an impeachment complaint against Duterte remains. This will speed up the processs at the lower chamber. But he, Luistro, and de Lima said they have yet to hear of such efforts at the House of Representatives.

“As of now, wala po akong naririnig. Pero I must say that wala namang hindrance for the House itself na by one-third, gumalaw sila at this stage… Wala pong impediment or hindrance legally and technically,” De Lima said.

“Now that the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte have been transmitted to the Office of the Speaker, we can expect these to be included in the Order of Business of the House plenary for action as early as February 9, 2026.

This, however, does not preclude one-third of all House members from endorsing articles of impeachment against the Vice President for direct transmittal to the Senate, so long as no plenary referral has yet been made to the House Committee on Justice,” Ridon said.

While the so-called “fast-track” route for impeachment remains an option, Luistro, reminded lawmakers to take into consideration the Supreme Court ruling on the said route.  

“The necessary caution needs to be observed. Kasi d’yan nagkaroon ng requirement ang ating Supreme Court in the first decision, na dapat mabigyan ng notice ang respondent. At dapat mabigyan ng pagkakataon ang respondent to file an answer to the impeachment complaint… Then with respect to the recent resolution, you would remember, in-emphasize nila ‘yung need na ang evidence must be attached to the impeachment complaint and that the same must be sufficient to support the impeachment complaint. There was an express requirement also that the individual copies of both the impeachment complaint and the evidence should be provided to the individual members of the House of Representatives,” she said.

“I am certain that the Committee on Rules will find ways to reconcile both the decision and the resolution of the Supreme Court on one hand and the independence of the House of Representatives with respect to the exclusivity of its authority to initiate all impeachment cases,” Luistro noted.

COMMITTEE REPORT

Meanwhile, the House Committee on Justice is working on its committee report declaring the two impeachment complaints against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “insufficient in substance”, effectively dismissing them.

“Ang laman nitong ating committee report should only be the determination as to form and determination as to substance. Kung ano ‘yung nangyaring botohan doon sa Justice Committee about the sufficiency in form and the sufficiency in substance, ito lang ang dapat maging laman ng ating committee report… We will vote but only to approve the committee report prior to our transmittal to the plenary,” Luistro explained.

She said there is still an opportunity for at least one-third of House members to overturn the House panel decision once its committee report is tackled in the plenary.

But De Lima doubts there will be enough numbers to do that.

“Sa akin, less chance po na ma-reverse o ma-overturn,” she said.

If overturned, the House Committee on Justice will be compelled to draft the Articles of Impeachment based on the complaints, according to Luistro. The articles will need a vote of at least one-third of House members to be transmitted and filed before the Senate for trial.

But if the House plenary adopts the committee report dismissing the complaints against Marcos, it will become final, and no new impeachment complaint may be filed against him until January 26, 2027.

Asked to react on the development, President Ferdinand Marcos,Jr. said: "I have no reaction. Hindi ko trabaho ‘yan. Trabaho ng House. Pabayaan mo silang magtrabaho. I'm sure they will handle it properly."

The first impeachment complaint was endorsed by Makabayan lawmakers Antonio Tinio, Renee Co, and Sarah Elago.

Former lawmakers France Castro and Neri Colmenares were among the named complainants.

Tindig Pilipinas’ Francis “Kiko” Aquino Dee and Sylvia Estrada Claudio, and other civil society leaders endorsed the second complaint.

ML party-list Representative Leila de Lima and Akbayan party-list Representative Perci Cendaña endorsed this.

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