Fourth impeach rap vs Duterte forwarded to Dy's office in less than a day

The fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte has been transmitted to the office of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III on Thursday.

In a statement, the office of House Secretary General Cheloy Garafil said the complaint – lodged by Nathaniel Cabrera – was sent to Dy’s office on Thursday, or less than 24 hours after its filing.

“The fourth impeachment complaint filed against Vice President Sara Duterte was formally received by the Office of the Secretary General at 6:34 p.m. on Wednesday and has been transmitted to the Office of Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ G. Dy III today, Thursday, in accordance with established House rules,” Garafil’s office said.

The fourth impeachment complaint was endorsed by House human rights panel chair and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. and House Deputy Speaker and La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V.

It accused Duterte of alleged betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, bribery, and other high crimes.

It cited the alleged misuse of P612.5 million of confidential funds and using them as bribes, and the Vice President’s alleged threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his immediate family as made in an expletive-filled press briefing streamed online in November 2024.

“The OSG’s (Office of the Secretary General) role is purely ministerial, confined to receiving and transmitting pleadings and documents filed with the House,” Garafil’s office added.

Under House rules, the Speaker has 10 session days to include the impeachment complaints forwarded to his or her office under the order of business for plenary action. 

If these complaints are not included in the order of business during the 10 session days, an impeachment case is deemed to have been initiated and the one-year ban on another impeachment complaint will kick in.

This is provided under the July 2025 and January 2026 Supreme Court decisions that declared the 2025 impeachment case filed by the House against the Vice President as unconstitutional. 

On Wednesday, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said the three impeachment complaints against Duterte will take the longer route and will be referred to the House justice panel to determine its sufficiency in form and substance. — JMA, GMA Integrated News