Sara Duterte bound for Australia, to join rally for dad Rodrigo

Vice President Sara Duterte will travel to Australia for another personal trip and to join a protest action calling for the release of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

According to an advisory Friday from the Office of the Vice President (OVP), her itinerary includes attendance in the "Free Duterte Now" rally on Sunday, June 22, in Melbourne. 

The elder Duterte is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands over charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during his administration's war on drugs. 

Last week, the Vice President traveled to Kuala Lumpur for a personal trip with her family. While in Malaysia, she attended a Philippine Independence Day celebration and engaged in a program consultation with overseas Filipino workers.

The Vice President is facing an impeachment case for betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes. 

She was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint against her.

After the Senate voted to return her case to the House of Representatives, her impeachment trial is currently expected to begin in the 20th Congress, which will open in July.

The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday directed Sara Duterte and nine others from the OVP and the Department of Education (DepEd) to respond to the charges filed by the House of Representatives in connection with the alleged misuse of confidential funds. 

The order came after the House filed a complaint against Duterte and several others for plunder, technical malversation, falsification, use of falsified documents, perjury, bribery, corruption of public officers, betrayal of public trust, and culpable violation of the Constitution, a source said. 

The complaint stemmed from the recommendation of the House Committee on Good Governance and Public Accountability to file charges against Duterte for the alleged misuse of P500 million in confidential funds of the OVP and P112.5 million in confidential funds of DepEd from 2022 to 2024. The Vice President has denied the allegations against her. — VDV, GMA Integrated News