Sara's office receives prosecutors' motion to answer impeachment complaint

The Office of Vice President (OVP) Sara Duterte on Wednesday received the House of Representatives prosecutors’ motion asking the Senate to require her to answer the Articles of Impeachment. 

In a statement, the House prosecutors said that the OVP received the Entry with Motion to Issue Summons at 11:20 am on Wednesday.

The Office of the Vice President has received a copy of the Entry with Motion to Issue Summons filed by the House Prosecution Panel at the Senate yesterday. @gmanews @gmanewsbreaking ????House of Representatives pic.twitter.com/Yn0Ey3P3CH

— Tina PanganibanPerez (@tinapperez) March 26, 2025

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, accusing her of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption and other high crimes based on the following seven Articles of Impeachment:

1. Conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez;
2. Malversation of P612.5 Million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
3. Bribery and corruption in the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure by handing out cash to former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (Procurement Head), Bids and Awards Committee Member Resty Osias, DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan and Special Disbursing Officer Edward Fajarda;
4. Unexplained wealth and failure to disclose assets in the Vice President’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth where her wealth increased by four times from 2007 from 2017;
5. Involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
6. Destabilization, insurrection, and public disorder efforts, which include: boycotting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) while declaring herself "designated survivor," leading rallies calling for Marcos' resignation, obstructing congressional investigations by ordering subordinates not to comply with subpoenas, threatening bodily harm against the First Couple and Romualdez, among others;
7. The totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land.

The Senate received the House prosecutors’ motion on Tuesday, March 26, citing Rule 7 of Resolution No. 39 dated March 23, 2011.

It states that “a writ of summons should be issued to the person impeached, reciting or incorporating said articles, and notifying him/her to appear before the Senate upon a day and at a place to be fixed by the Senate and named in such writ, and to file his/her Answer to said articles of impeachment within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt thereof; to which the prosecutors may reply within an extendible period of five days therefrom.” 

Duterte is currently in The Hague, Netherlands where her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is the under custody of the International Criminal Court due to crimes against humanity charges.

Since she was impeached, the Vice President has filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with urgent application of temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction before the Supreme Court, saying her impeachment was a mere whim on the part of the House rather than following due process and as such, is illegal.

Meanwhile, lawyers from Mindanao and others also asked the SC earlier to direct the Senate to cease and desist from conducting the impeachment trial of Duterte, arguing that it is based on a defective complaint. —VAL, GMA Integratted News