After 4 Hearings, House Justice Panel Finds Probable Cause to Impeach VP Sara Duterte
HOUSE JUSTICE PANEL – The House Committee on Justice is seeking for the impeachment and the perpetual ban of Vice President Sara Duterte from public office.
Two (2) impeachment complaints against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte that were found substantial in form, substance, and grounds led to the House Committee on Justice finding probable cause to impeach Vice Pres. Duterte. At least four (4) impeachment hearings were held.
Here are some of the grounds that were raised against Vice Pres. Duterte in the impeachment complaints against her:
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount over PHP 500 million confidential funds (CF) allocated to the Office of the Vice President from 2022 to 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in amassing and converting the amount of not less than PHP 112.5 million of confidential funds allocated to the Department of Education (DepEd) for the year 2023
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by corrupting and bribing officials of the DepEd
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes in contracting to murder or assassinate the president, the first lady, and the former speaker of the House
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in amassing unexplained wealth and failing to disclose all her properties and interests in properties in her SALN
- Alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in committing acts of political destabilization and the high crimes of sedition and insurrection
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte skipped all four impeachment hearings held by the House Justice panel. Her lawyer, Atty. Michael Poa, defended the Vice President saying that she is not obliged to appear before the committee.
The Duterte camp questioned the constitutionality of the impeachment hearings and even requested a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Supreme Court against the inquiry. According to her lawyers, they are ready to prove that Duterte is not corrupt.
The House Justice panel unanimously approved the committee report against Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. They are taking it into the plenary and would need 1/3 or at least 106 votes to impeach the Vice President.
Based on a report on GMA News, the House Justice panel is not only after the impeachment of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. They also want the Vice President to be perpetually-banned from public office.
Furthermore, the committee also pushed for Duterte to be prosecuted for the impeachable offenses she supposedly committed as the second highest official in the government. Based on the report, the panel accused the Vice President of alleged culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes, based on the following articles of impeachment:
a) Systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her term as Education Secretary;
b) Amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official;
c) Failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse’s assets, liabilities, and net worth in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net worth (SALNs) for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024;
d) Failure to divest; and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as Vice President for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025;
e) Giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws;
f) Contracting the assassination of the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and former Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats and by actively inciting sedition against the Republic.
Recently, while in The Hague, Netherlands to visit former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte spoke on the possibility that she will be impeached.
