VP Sara impeachment complaint may be refiled ‘as is’ —Ridon 

The impeachment complaint that was filed against Vice President Sara Duterte last year may be refiled “as is,” House Committee on Public Accounts chairperson Terry Ridon said. 

Ridon pointed out that Supreme Court’s ruling—which it reaffirmed last week—that declared the Articles of Impeachment against the vice president as unconstitutional does not touch the substance of the case. 

“Oo, pwede po i-file as is po ‘yan sa totoo lang kasi wala naman hong debate sa form, wala pong debate sa substansya,” the Bicol Saro Party-list representative said in a news forum on Saturday. 

(Honestly, that can be filed as is because there is no debate regarding the form, and there is no debate regarding the substance.) 

The lawmaker said that the facts cited in the earlier complaint remain the same. 

“So in a refiling of Vice President impeachment case, I don’t think the facts have changed from last year. We’re still going to be talking about the use of confidential funds and death threats against the President, the First Lady and the former House Speaker,” Ridon added. 

However, Ridon said that it remains unclear if there will be additional complaint this time. 

“Hindi lang ako sigurado kung may mga additional basis for an impeachment this year,” he said. 

(I'm just not sure if there are additional grounds for an impeachment this year.) 

The SC earlier dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by the House of the Representatives in connection with the Court's July 2025 ruling that found the impeachment complaint unconstitutional for violating the one-year bar rule and Duterte's right to due process. 

In a resolution, the SC affirmed that the House has the sole prerogative to initiate impeachment complaints and promulgate its rules.

To recall, three impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte in December 2024, all of which were connected to the alleged misuse of confidential funds.

It was the fourth impeachment complaint that was endorsed by over one-third of lawmakers from the House of Representatives and was later transmitted to the Senate as the Articles of Impeachment.

The impeachment complaint consists of seven articles against Duterte:

• conspiracy to assassinate President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez;
• malversation of P612.5 million in confidential funds with questionable liquidation documents;
• bribery and corruption in the Department of Education 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;
• the totality of the Vice President’s conduct as the second highest official of the land. 

 — BM, GMA Integrated News