Vice President Sara Duterte welcomed the two impeachment cases filed against her, saying she views them as an opportunity to address the allegations “exclusively” directed at her.
“I welcome that they have finally filed the impeachment case that they have been talking about since last year,” the Vice President said on Monday evening.
She said the filing of the cases would finally allow her to confront the issues raised without involving other officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
“The impeachment case(s) is okay because I am the only one being targeted… I am the only one being attacked by the impeachment case. My colleagues at the OVP and my former colleagues at the Department of Education are not included. I can finally answer the accusations,” Duterte said in a mixture of Filipino and English.
Two impeachment complaints were lodged against Duterte within a week.
The first one was filed by a coalition including the Magdalo, Mamamayang Liberal, Tindig Pilipinas, families of drug war victims, and Catholic Church leaders. Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña endorsed this complaint.
The second complaint, led by the progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and backed by Makabayan bloc lawmakers France Castro, Arlene Brosas, and Raoul Manuel, centered on alleged misuse of confidential funds in her offices.
Duterte, however, was less open to cooperating with a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probe on her controversial “kill remarks” against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romuladez.
The Vice President said she would again skip a meeting with NBI officials today (Wednesday) after her lawyers advised that a personal appearance is not necessary.
“My understanding is I can simply submit an affidavit or position paper [to the NBI]. Secondly, we have thanksgiving activities on December 11,” she noted.
As this developed, the House of Representatives Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability once again turned to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to verify the civil registry records of 1,992 individuals linked to P500 million in confidential funds allegedly spent by the OVP under Duterte.
“May we request for the verification of the Civil Registry Documents (birth, marriage, and death) of the names in the attached list relative to the investigation being conducted by the Committee,” committee chair Manila Rep. Joel Chua wrote in a letter to National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis Mapa.
The request comes in the wake of a PSA report that revealed glaring discrepancies in an earlier batch of names linked to P112.5 million in confidential funds disbursed by the Department of Education (DepEd) during Duterte’s term as education secretary in 2023.
Out of the 667 names examined, 405 had no birth records, 445 lacked marriage certificates, and 508 had no death certificates.
This time, the names under scrutiny appear on acknowledgement receipts (ARs) submitted by the OVP to the Commission on Audit (COA) to justify confidential fund expenditures from late 2022 to the third quarter of 2023.
Chua underscored the importance of PSA verification in uncovering potential irregularities.
“A certification that these names are not in the PSA database would bolster suspicions that they do not exist and that the ARs were fabricated to justify confidential fund expenditures by the OVP and DepEd under Vice President Duterte,” the Manila lawmaker said.
Meanwhile, administration lawmakers said they have yet to seriously discuss the impeachment complaints filed against the Vice President.
“We really, honestly, haven’t discussed supporting the impeachment complaint. In fact, the two complaints are still with the Office of the Secretary-General. It is yet to be sent to the Speaker,” House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V on Tuesday.
For his part, Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte explained that the Lower Chamber is currently focused on its investigations on alleged extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, crimes linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and the Vice President’s spending.
“We haven’t talked about it in the majority [bloc]. I haven’t even seen a document seeking signatures [in support of the impeachment]. I’ve been asked if I already signed such, but I haven’t encountered such a document,” the Quad Committee’s lead chair said.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “VP Sara Duterte welcomes impeachment complaints.”
