Sara Duterte says new impeachment plans ‘not surprising’

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said she was not surprised by the plans to refile an impeachment complaint against her, alleging that it is being used as a “bargaining chip” by certain lawmakers before the passage of the 2026 national budget. 

This came following the announcement of militant coalition Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) that it is preparing a fresh impeachment complaint against the Vice President in time for the end of the constitutionally mandated one-year ban on such complaints on February 5, 2026.

“The latest pronouncement by some members of the House of Representatives on a new impeachment complaint is not surprising. Its timing reveals a pattern that has become all too familiar,” Duterte said in a statement. 

“I have always stood ready to answer any allegation grounded in fact and truth. But I cannot remain silent while the impeachment process is being twisted into a budget-driven racket,” she added. 

According to the Vice President, the disclosure of some lawmakers regarding the impeachment complaint previously filed against her showed that the move “was never really driven by principle but by price.”

In September, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero alleged that Leyte Representative and former Speaker Martin Romualdez used “for-later-release” (FLR) allocations to ask House members to sign the impeachment complaint against Duterte.

Escudero, a former Senate president, said that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos turned down the plan, and the funds remained under the FLR. 

Romualdez, meanwhile, denied the accusations, describing Escudero’s privilege speech as a “DDS script.”

Duterte lamented that no formal investigation was made following the allegation. 

“Despite such revelations, no inquiry or investigation was conducted to hold anyone accountable for the billions of pesos that were squandered on political warfare when they should have been used to serve the Filipino people,” she said. 

“Now, this constitutional mechanism is being dangled once again as a bargaining chip right before the 2026 National Budget is passed,’” she added. 

The Vice President further called on those who supposedly continue to exploit the impeachment process to “stop hiding behind the language of ‘good governance.’”

In August, the Senate, which was then under Escudero’s leadership, voted to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment against Duterte, following the Supreme Court decision to declare her impeachment unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives impeached Duterte on February 5, with over 200 lawmakers endorsing the complaint. The Vice President was accused of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the constitution, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.

Duterte had entered a “not guilty” plea in the verified impeachment complaint filed against her, which she called merely a “scrap of paper.” 

READ: The Impeachment Trial of Sara Duterte

—AOL, GMA Integrated News