The House of Representatives on Monday impeached Vice President Sara Duterte on allegations of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, bribery, and other high crimes.
The House plenary, for the second straight year, voted to impeach Duterte, this time with 255 yes votes, 26 no votes, and 9 abstentions.
Only 106 yes votes were needed to satisfy the 1987 Constitution's requirement that one-third of the House membership be present to impeach an impeachable official.
The House of Representatives in 2025 voted to impeach Duterte with 215 yes votes, but the Supreme Court declared the impeachment void after the High Tribunal found it unconstitutional.
The House justice panel alleged that the Vice President committed the offenses based on the following articles of impeachment:
- Systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation of confidential funds amounting to P500 million released to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and P112.5 million released to the Department of Education (DepEd) during her tenure as Education chief
- Amassing unexplained wealth manifestly disproportionate to her lawful income and earnings during her incumbency as a public official
- Failure to fully and truthfully disclose all her and her spouse's assets, liabilities, and net worth in her statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), including in her SALN for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024
- Failure to divest, and instead, willfully continued, all her business interests during her tenure as vice president for the years 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025
- Giving monetary gifts or payments to DepEd officials to induce the violation and circumvention of procurement and other related laws
- Contracting for the assassination of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and the former Speaker of the House and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, by making grave threats, and by actively inciting sedition against the republic.
Items a, e, and f constitute Articles 1, 3, and 4, while items b, c, and d are all subsections of Article 2 of the articles of impeachment.
House justice committee chairperson and Batangas Gerville Luistro, in her sponsorship speech, said Duterte should explain the P6.7 billion in bank transactions involving her and her husband, Manases Carpio, which were not declared in their joint filing of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
“May numero ba tayo? Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues. Opo. Meron po tayong numero. Ngunit ang numerong tinutukoy ko ay hindi lamang bilang ng boto. Nasa records po ang numero. P6.7 billion. Iyan ang numerong kailangang maipaliwanag sa sambayanang Pilipino,” Luistro said.
“Iyan ang numerong hindi maaaring ibaon sa limot. Iyan ang numerong nagtatanong kung may mga bagay bang kinakailangang lubos na maipaliwanag sa sambayanang Pilipino," she added.
"At sa Senado, naroon ang pagkakataon ng Bise Presidente na sagutin nang buo ang bawat alegasyon, iharap ang kanyang ebidensya, at marinig ng buong sambayanan ang kanyang panig,” Luistro said.
Luistro then reiterated that the Articles of Impeachment are anchored on evidence, not gossip.
“Hawak po natin ngayon ang bunga ng mahabang proseso. Hindi ito nabuo sa isang gabi. Hindi ito produkto ng tsismis, galit, o sigaw sa social media. Bawat pahina ay may bigat. Bawat dokumento ay may implikasyon,” Luistro said.
DEFENSE TEAM
Meanwhile, Duterte’s defense team said they are prepared to face the impeachment proceedings before the Senate after the House of Representatives voted to impeach her for the second year.
"We are aware of the action taken by the plenary and with that vote to transmit the Articles of Impeachment, the burden now rests on the accusers to substantiate their claims in accordance with the Constitution, the law, and rules on evidence," the defense team said.
"While questions of constitutional significance reamin pending before the Supreme Court, we are fully prepared to defend the Vice President before the Senate sitting as an Impeachment Court, where it is incumbent upon the Prosecution to discharge the burden of proof," the team added.
(With reports from Llanesca T. Panti, GMA News)
