Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio faced a third impeachment trial on Monday against religious organizations and civil society organizations over allegations that include fraud, corruption and extortion.
The complaint filed in the House of Representatives focuses on claims that Ms. Duterte misused secret and intelligence funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, violating the Constitution and betraying public trust.
“It is still the duty of Congress to censure him and remove him from office forever,” Amando Virgil D. Ligutan, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, told reporters after the petition was filed. Party list attorney Leila M. de Lima approved the complaint.
The office of the Vice President did not immediately respond to a Viber message seeking comment. Mrs. Duterte has denied wrongdoing.
The 98-page testimony accused the Vice President of misusing R500 million of secret money allocated to his office from 2022 to 2023, and R112.5 million earmarked for the Department of Education during his tenure as Secretary.
“In fact, the secret funds went to the Vice President’s people — not secret staff but cross-collaborators,” according to a copy of the complaint.
The plaintiffs also accused him of illegal enrichment, saying his declared salary as former mayor and vice mayor could not explain the hundreds of millions of pesos allegedly found in his bank accounts. They also accused him of bribery related to government contracts and threatening to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., the First Lady and former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, the President’s cousin.
The latest complaint adds to increased pressure on Ms Duterte amid calls for more transparency on the use of secret and intelligence funds, said Ederson DT. Tapia, a professor of political science at the University of Makati.
The allegations could reinforce the narrative that has been presented in previous impeachment appeals, he said, noting that repeated filings could keep the case alive in the public arena even if the chances of a conviction remain uncertain.
The filing of the petition comes as the House of Representatives has finished deliberations on the impeachment petition against President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., Ms. Duterte’s political rival.
Although a full vote is still needed on the Marcos issue, the chances of overturning the delegation’s dismissal appear slim, as the platform is dominated by the President’s allies and requires at least 106 votes.
The two impeachment efforts could deepen political fault lines between Marcos’ allies in the House and Ms. Duterte, who is widely seen as a potential contender in the 2028 presidential election.
Activists and civil society groups filed separate petitions to impeach the Vice President last week, renewing efforts to remove him from office due to similar corruption allegations.
Mrs. Duterte was impeached by the House last year after more than a third of lawmakers supported a fourth impeachment that was quickly sent to the Senate. After he received a Supreme Court decision dismissing the proceedings, the high court said the lawmakers had violated the constitution by ignoring earlier complaints. – Kenneth Christian L. Basilio
