VP Sara's cousin to House on impeachment: Vote based on truth, not noise

Puwersa ng Pilipinong Pandagat (PPP) party-list Representative Harold Duterte on Monday said it is "very clear" his cousin Vice President Sara Duterte should not face impeachment, ahead of the planned filing of an impeachment complaint against her.

Congressman Duterte made the statement less than a week after House public accounts panel chairperson Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list said that the filing of a new impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte next month is possible even if the Supreme Court has yet to resolve the House of Representatives’ appeal against the SC's decision declaring the impeachment raps filed against Duterte illegal.

“The grounds for impeachment are not vague nor elastic. They are clearly defined by the Constitution: culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. If these will be the basis [of an impeachment complaint], it is very clear that the Vice President does not deserve to be placed in a hot seat and yet here we are, talking about an impeachment,” Congressman Duterte said in a statement.

“As the one-year constitutional ban on impeachment cases draws to a close, we must ask ourselves whether the Vice President truly committed any act that rises to these grave constitutional standards. I call on my fellow lawmakers, should an impeachment complaint be filed, let us examine the charges soberly, evaluate the evidence rigorously, and vote not based on noise or numbers, but on conscience, truth, and the Constitution,” he added.

The Articles of Impeachment filed by the House of Representatives against the Vice President in February 5, 2025 are:

• conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. First Lady Liza Marcos, and Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez;
• malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• 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;
• 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;
• involvement in extrajudicial killings in Davao City;
• 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; and
• the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land.

The Vice President’s cousin, however, argued that the country is still mired with lingering problems of insufficient budget for healthcare, the fisherfolk access to municipal waters and the anomalous flood control government project kickback scheme that need urgent attention rather than the impeachment.

“We have lots of problems and we have more questions than answers. At this critical time, the Filipino people expect Congress to legislate, to investigate where necessary, and to work constructively with the Executive Branch to deliver solutions—not to manufacture political crises where no clear case exists,” he said.

“The impeachment is not a political toll but an accountability mechanism that should only be used if there is a clear and real crime,” he added.

The July 2025 Supreme Court ruled that the impeachment case against the Vice President was illegal for violating the one-year bar rule and the House of Representatives violating her right to due process because it did not follow a number of rules.

These new rules, which did not exist at the time that the House filed the impeachment complaint vs. the Vice President, include:

• the Articles of Impeachment or Resolution must include evidence when shared with the House members, especially those who are considering its endorsement.
• the evidence should be sufficient to prove the charges in the Articles of Impeachment.
• the Articles of Impeachment and the supporting evidence should be available to all members of the House of Representatives, not only to those who are being considered to endorse.
• the respondent in the impeachment complaint should have been given a chance to be heard on the Articles of Impeachment and the supporting evidence to prove the charges prior to its transmittal to the Senate, despite the number of endorsements from House members.
• the House of Representatives must be given reasonable time to reach their independent decision of whether or not they will endorse an impeachment complaint. However, the Supreme Court has the power to review whether this period is sufficient. The petitioner who invokes the Supreme Court's power to review should prove that officials failed to perform their duties properly.
• the basis of any charge must be for impeachable acts or omissions committed in relation to their office and during the current term of the impeachable officer. For the President and Vice President, these acts must be sufficiently grave amounting to the crimes described in Article XI Section 2, or the Trail of Public Trust given by the majority of the electorate. For the other impeachable officers, the acts must be sufficiently grave that they undermine and outweigh the respect for their constitutional independence and autonomy.
• the House of Representatives is required to provide a copy of the Articles of Impeachment and its accompanying evidence to the respondent to give him/her an opportunity to respond within a reasonable period to be determined by the House rule and to make the Articles of Impeachment, with its accompanying evidence and the comment of the respondent, available to all the members of the House of Representatives.

— BM, GMA Integrated News