3 impeachment raps vs VP Sara to be transmitted to Speaker this week —House SecGen

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said Monday he will transmit the three impeachment complaints filed against Vice President Sara Duterte to the Office of the Speaker this week.

The House session is scheduled to adjourn on Friday, February 7, and will resume on Monday, June 2.

“Still with me but we have to act on it this week. We will act on it this week,” Velasco told reporters in an ambush interview.

Velasco earlier said that several members of the House of Representatives had asked for time to file a fourth impeachment complaint.

“As of now, wala pa eh [it has not been filed yet]. So, you know, I think we have given them enough time. So we will have to transmit the impeachment complaints within this week,” he said.

When asked if the fourth impeachment complaint is already dead in the water, Velasco replied, “Hindi naman kasi nga anytime, one-third of the members can endorse it, can sign a complaint in my presence, and then diretso 'yon sa Senate. Hindi na dadaan sa Committee on Justice.”

(No, because anytime, one-third of the members can endorse it, can sign a complaint in my presence, and then it can go straight to the Senate. It does not have to go through the Committee on Justice.)

“They're looking for the fast-track process. We are still looking for the fast-track process which will override all these requirements,” he added.

At least 103 members of the House of Representatives should endorse an impeachment complaint for it to be transmitted straight to the Senate, which will act as an impeachment court.

If this happens, there will be no need for the House Committee on Justice to conduct hearings on the impeachment complaints.

Velasco, however, said that the three impeachment complaints have yet to gain additional support.

"Wala pa kami natatanggap na additional endorsers of the three complaints," Velasco said.

(The complaints have yet to garner additional endorsers.)

Velasco maintained that the House is not dragging its foot on the possible impeachment of the Vice President.

"Wala, walang instruction sa akin [to delay action on impeachment complaints]," he added.

(There is no instruction given to me [to delay action on impeachment complaints].)

Complaints filed

Duterte, who also served as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), earlier said she welcomes the impeachment complaints filed against her.

“So, okay din 'yung impeachment case dahil ako lang ang tinitira doon, ako lang iniimbestigahan noon. Ako lang ang inaatake ng impeachment case,” Duterte had said.

(So, it’s okay they filed an impeachment case since I’ll only be the one who's being attacked. I’ll only be the one who's being investigated. I’ll only be the one who is being attacked in the impeachment case.)

Velasco confirmed last month that the three impeachment complaints filed against Duterte have all been verified.

The three impeachment complaints, which are all connected with the alleged misuse of confidential funds, were filed and endorsed late last year at the House of Representatives.

Civil society organizations, religious leaders, sectoral representatives, and families of victims of extrajudicial killings filed the first impeachment complaint against Duterte on December 2. It was endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña.

The complaint stemmed from Duterte’s alleged culpable violations of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes.

On December 4, more than 70 individuals from various sectors filed the second impeachment complaint against the Vice President.

The complaint was endorsed by House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro, Gabriela Women's Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel.

In their complaint, the signatories argued that Duterte betrayed public trust by her “abuse of discretionary powers” over confidential funds, her disregard for transparency and accountability, and her dereliction of duty over her willful refusal to recognize Congressional oversight during budget deliberations.

A third impeachment complaint against Duterte was filed on December 19 by religious groups, priests, and lawyers for alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, among others, over alleged misuse of at least P612 million worth of confidential funds.

Lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan, counsel for the complainants, said their impeachment complaint is based on the findings of the House good government and public accountability committee on the confidential fund use of the Office of the Vice President and DepEd under Duterte.

Ligutan said the complaint was endorsed by Camarines Sur Representative Gabriel Bordado and House Deputy Minority Leader and AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Representative Lex Anthony Colada.

Endorsers welcome action

The endorsers welcomed Velasco’s statement.

“Sana tuloy-tuloy na ang ating pagpapanagot kay VP Sara para makausad na ang pananagutan at hustisya [Hopefully this will proceed so that accountability and justice can move forward]. We welcome the statement of the House Sec-Gen that they will act on the impeachment complaints this week and transmit the complaints to the Speaker,” Akbayan's Cendaña said in a statement sent to GMA Integrated News.

“We are hopeful that this development is a sign that the House leadership will exercise decisiveness on this matter and expedite the approval by 1/3 of the members of the House,” he added.

“That is long overdue but if 1/3 of congressmen would sign to endorse any of the impeachment complaints before the session ends then it would go straight to the Senate. That is why we are still urging our colleagues to sign and endorse our complaint," ACT Teachers' Castro said in a separate statement.

The lawyer of the complainants in the third impeachment complaint also said it was “high time” the complaints were transmitted by Velasco.

“And it’s imperative for the House of Representatives to act on them immediately. History will not be kind to those who give a free pass to the Vice President’s infractions for political convenience,” Ligutan also said in a statement sent to GMA Integrated News. —KG/RSJ/BM, GMA Integrated News