The House of Representatives on May 11 voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time, transmitting four articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial over allegations including misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and grave threats.
With 257 lawmakers voting in favor, 25 against, and nine abstaining, the House adopted Committee Report No. 261 and House Resolution No. 989, far exceeding the constitutional requirement of one-third of all House members, or 106 votes.
The approved articles of impeachment accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and high crimes tied to alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, SALN irregularities, payments to Department of Education (DepEd) officials, and threats against Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The impeachment followed months of committee hearings after the Supreme Court (SC) last year voided Duterte’s first impeachment for violating the Constitution’s one-year bar on more than one impeachment proceeding against the same official within a year.
To avoid another constitutional challenge, the House this year pursued the committee process, conducting hearings on the complaints, determining probable cause, and holding clarificatory hearings before elevating the articles to plenary.
Articles of impeachment
The first article of impeachment alleged the “systematic misuse, misappropriation, and irregular liquidation” of P500 million in confidential funds released to the Office of the Vice President and P112.5 million released to the DepEd during Duterte’s tenure as education secretary.
Committee findings cited questioned liquidation reports, audit disallowances, and alleged irregularities involving acknowledgment receipts and listed recipients.
The second article focused on alleged unexplained wealth, SALN discrepancies, and failure to divest business interests, citing AMLC records reflecting billions of pesos in covered and suspicious transactions involving Duterte and her spouse, lawyer Manases Carpio.
“P6.7 billion. Iyan ang numerong kailangang maipaliwanag sa sambayanang Pilipino,” Luistro said during her sponsorship speech.
The third article accused Duterte of bribery and graft through alleged monetary gifts or payments to Department of Education officials to induce violations of procurement and related laws.
The fourth article stemmed from Duterte’s November 2024 remarks that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Senate trial
Following House approval, the articles of impeachment are expected to be transmitted to the Senate, which is constitutionally mandated to convene as an impeachment court.
A conviction would require a two-thirds vote of all senators. If convicted, Duterte would be removed from office and permanently disqualified from holding public office.
The impeachment proceedings also unfolded amid political developments in the Senate after Sen. Vicente Sotto III was replaced as Senate president by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano shortly before the House vote.
“The House has already done its job, and I hope the Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty under the 1987 Constitution to forthwith convene as an impeachment court once the articles of impeachment are transmitted to it,” Chel Diokno said in a statement.
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