House impeaches VP Sara Duterte for a second time

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte made history by becoming the first Philippine official to be impeached twice.

The House of Representatives approved on Monday, May 11, the justice committee report that found probable cause in the complaints against the Vice President.

A total of 255 lawmakers voted to indict Duterte, exceeding the 215 House members who signed her impeachment complaint last year.

Twenty-six House members opposed Duterte’s impeachment, while 9 abstained.

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A total of 290 out of 318 House members cast their votes on Duterte’s impeachment, which means 28 lawmakers were either absent at the plenary session, or were present but did not participate in the voting at all — not even registering a vote to abstain.

Skipping politically divisive votes is a familiar congressional tactic. By avoiding a recorded position, lawmakers can avoid potential backlash from constituents or political allies on either side of the issue.

The House only needs 106 out of 318 votes — or one-third of the total number of members as per the Constitution — to impeach Duterte.

It’s a stunning development in the House, which, earlier this year, had lawmakers even from the majority who were expressing strong reservations to efforts to impeach Duterte again.

‘Sacred duty’

“Ang tanong lamang na nasa harap natin ngayon, ang tanong ngayon ay may sapat bang dahilan kung dapat ituloy ang paglilitis sa Senado?” House justice committee chair Gerville Luistro said, in sponsoring her panel’s report on Duterte’s impeachment case.

“Iyan ang sagradong tungkulin na ipinapasa ng justice committee sa buong kapulungan,” she added.

(The question is front of us, the question now is are there enough reasons to pursue the trial at the Senate?… That is the sacred duty that the justice committee is passing on to the plenary.)

Impeachable offenses

The committee report contained the resolution setting forth the four articles of impeachment.

These are:

• Article I: Culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, and betrayal of public trust
  • Related to her alleged misuse of confidential funds as head of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education worth a combined P612.5 million
• Article II: Culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust
  • Related to the supposed unexplained wealth, stemming from the discrepancy between her bank transaction records and her declared net worth in her Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs)
• Article III: Bribery, graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, and betrayal of public trust
  • Related to her alleged monetary gifts to DepEd officials
• Article IV: Culpable violation of the Constitution, high crimes, and betrayal of public trust
  • Related to her alleged threats to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez, and her supposed efforts to incite to sedition against the government

Most of the allegations were also present in last year’s impeachment complaints, but the longer route taken by the House this time — partly a cautious move to avoid another Supreme Court intervention — paved the way for impeachment hearings that enabled lawmakers to subpoena never-before-seen documents to bolster the case against the Vice President.

Duterte and her legal team snubbed all hearings, but offered general denial of the allegations thrown at her during her press conferences or through official statements.

What happens next

The House will transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate, which is tasked to convene as an impeachment court.

Last year, the Senate under the leadership of then-Senate president Chiz Escudero delayed the proceedings, drawing backlash from critics who insisted that a trial must “forthwith” proceed, in accordance with the Constitution. The Supreme Court later sided with the Senate, saying “forthwith” meant “within a reasonable time.”

The High Court also declared Duterte’s impeachment unconstitutional, aborting a Senate trial last year.

Duterte has declared her bid for Malacañang in 2028, but an impeachment conviction will shatter her aspirations to become president.

When he was Senate president, Senator Tito Sotto had promised not to delay the proceedings this year, and had committed to convene the Senate as an impeachment court once it receives the impeachment articles.

However, Sotto’s sudden ouster as Senate president and the election of staunch Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano to replace him just as the House deliberated on the impeachment case, has again cast doubt on whether or not Duterte’s impeachment trial would proceed.

Even if Duterte goes to trial, it will be a rough road for the House prosecution team to convince at least 16 out of 24 senators — or the constitutional two-thirds threshold — to convict Duterte.

This means Duterte needs only nine senators to avoid conviction. Several are widely seen as reliable votes for the Vice President — Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, and Ronald dela Rosa, who broke his absence at the Senate on Monday to secure a leadership change in the upper chamber. The Cayetano siblings and Villar siblings have also tended to be aligned with, or sympathetic to, the Dutertes. – With reports from Jairo Bolledo/Rappler.com