Second impeachment complaint filed vs VP Sara
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 4 Dec) – A second impeachment complaint was filed on Wednesday against Vice President Sara Duterte for “betrayal of public trust.”
Filed by 75 representatives of various people’s organizations, the complaint was endorsed by the Makabayan bloc members ACT Teachers party Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel.
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said in a press conference streamed live over Facebook that the complaint was filed on the sole ground of “betrayal of public trust,” which he said is much easier to establish paving the way for faster proceedings in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Under the 1987 Constitution, the grounds for impeachment are culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust.
Colmenares believed that Duterte’s gross abuse of discretionary power over P612 million in confidential funds from December 2022 until the third quarter of 2023 betrayed public trust.
The huma rights lawyer also believed that Duterte showed “gross disregard of transparency and accountability, making a mockery of the audit process by ordering her subordinates to prepare implausible accomplishment reports, supported by fabricated liquidation reports and falsified documents, submitting them to Commission on Audit to support the questionable use of confidential funds that are not in accordance with laws and regulations, causing great injury to the government and taxpayers.”
He added that Duterte betrayed public trust by dereliction of her official duty,” with her willful refusal to recognize the oversight function of the Congress budget deliberations and its investigations in aid of legislation.
“These acts constitute various offenses even under the Revised Penal Code, but we focused on betrayal of public trust because it is all-encompassing. For us, it is the fastest way to resolve this case,” he said in a mixed English and Filipino.
He explained that betraying public trust is “one of the highest, if not the highest treachery of a public official.”
Last Monday, Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña confirmed the filing of the first impeachment complaint against Duterte by a group of “brave citizens,” which he said marked “a critical juncture in our nation’s demand for accountability.”
Castro believed that the complaint was “sufficient in form and substance” because it was obvious during the hearings of the Committee on Good Government and Accountability of the House that executives under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) could not explain how the public funds were used.
The committee is investigating the alleged misuse of public funds by the OVP and Department of Education where Duterte served as secretary until her resignation on June 19, 2024.
The Makabayan bloc called on other House members to act on the impeachment complaint and vote according to their conscience despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s request that Congress not proceed with it.
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said the House should show its independence “to stand on the side of the people.”
The filing of the impeachment complaints came after the growing tensions between the Dutertes and the Marcoses, including the President’s first cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In a statement on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said that Malacañang has no involvement in the filing of the impeachment complaints.
“The impeachment complaint filed in the House of Representatives by several private citizens is clearly the complainants’ independent initiative, and its endorsement is the prerogative of any member of the House of Representatives. The Office of President has nothing to do with it,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
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