Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte is fielding another round of impeachment complaints as of Monday, after several attempts to remove her from office last year. Activists and rights groups are accusing her of betraying the public’s trust, corruption and other crimes.
The Vice President, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, is seen as a frontrunner for the 2028 presidential elections even after withstanding a similar impeachment bid last year. The bid was struck down by the Supreme Court on grounds of violating constitutional safeguards.
According to a lawyer for Duterte, these latest complaints come as “no surprise.”
“We are prepared to confront these allegations squarely through the proper constitutional processes,” her lawyer, Michael Poa, said in a statement.
Misuse of Funds, Bribery and Death Threats
Philippine’s political landscape has been tumultuous with Duterte locked in a bitter battle against former ally President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ahead of the next election. Marcos is unable to run again due to the single-term limit but is expected to back a successor in order to keep Duterte out of office.
The complaints lodged by civil society and leftist groups against Duterte are on similar grounds to the ones made last year. They include ignoring congressional inquiries, alleged misuse of public funds, bribery for government contracts and threats to kill Marcos, the first lady and the former House Speaker—Marcos’ cousin.
“The constitution does not permit such cynical disregard for public trust. It does not allow the Vice President to treat public funds as a personal war chest while stonewalling all attempts at oversight,” one of the complaints read.
These allegations have previously been rejected by Duterte.
Impeachment Complaints Against The President
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has also had separate impeachment complaints filed against President Marcos. When asked for a comment, the president’s communication office has stated that it is a matter for Congress to decide.
“We respect the rule of law, and we respect due process. The president wants to fight corruption as much as he can, and people deserve to know the truth,” it said.
The impeachment efforts this year will likely be an uphill battle due to additional procedures imposed by the Supreme Court last year. Another hurdle is that the midterm election last year allowed more Duterte allies to join the Senate, the members of which serve as jurors in impeachment cases.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who spoke to foreign correspondents at a forum on Monday, said, “It’s even more challenging now, I would say, given this Supreme Court final ruling.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
