Philippine VP Duterte faces impeachment case following ‘threat’ against Marcos

A group of Philippine activists and nationalists filed an impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte for alleged violations of the constitution and corruption, the latest twist in her ongoing political rift with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The complaint, endorsed by House of Representatives member Percival Cendaña, accused Duterte of violating the country’s Constitution, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes. 

Among the complainants were former government official Teresita Quintos Deles, activist Catholic priest Flaviano Villanueva and Randy delos Santos, whose nephew was killed during the war on drugs under the previous administration.

“We cannot allow public office to be weaponized for corruption, violence and betrayal of trust. The Filipino people deserve leaders who serve with integrity, not rulers who exploit power for personal gain,” Cendaña said about the complaint filed on Monday.

The House would need to deliberate on the complaint and if a third of its 316 members find it substantial in form and substance, it would be transmitted to the Senate, where Duterte would face trial. 

The announcement came just days after Marcos ruled out calls for Duterte’s impeachment, following the vice president’s statement that she had hired someone to target Marcos, his wife and his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, should she herself be killed.

Duterte later said her statement was taken out of context.

“What will happen if somebody files an impeachment [against Duterte]? It will tie down the House, it will tie down the Senate. It will just take up all our time and for what? For nothing, for nothing,” Marcos said on Friday.

Duterte is the subject of a House probe into the alleged budget misuse of 125 million pesos (U.S. $2.13 million) by her office while serving as vice president and as the former education secretary.

She has denied any wrongdoing.

The Marcos and Duterte families formed an alliance to win the general election two years ago, but the partnership has strained amid pressure on the government to allow an international investigation into the drug war by the vice president’s father and Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Thousands of suspected addicts and dealers were killed.

Cendaña said the impeachment complaint “marks a critical juncture” in the country’s demand for accountability of public officials. 

He said the complaint was “inseparable” from the broader campaign to hold former President Duterte accountable as well for “high crimes” related to his drug war during his term from 2016 to 2022.

The elder Duterte appeared before a House of Representatives committee investigating his drug war and openly admitted he had ordered the killings. He challenged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to jail him after saying he maintained a death squad to eliminate suspected drug dealers and addicts.

The killings under the Duterte administration are the focus of an ICC investigation for alleged state-sanctioned “crimes against humanity.”

“Our country must not allow the Duterte family’s legacy of corruption and mass murder to persist unchallenged,” Cendaña said.

“This impeachment complaint is but a first step. It must inspire and pave the way for further efforts to bring the Dutertes and their allies before the altar of justice,” he said.

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Leila de Lima, a former senator jailed during Duterte’s administration who was cleared by the courts on what she claimed were trumped-up charges, said that among the 24 articles of impeachment were allegations of fund “misuse” by the vice president’s office.

“Also included are other grounds like her threats … because these are very unbecoming and these are actually betrayal of public trust [and] because these are also high crimes,” said de Lima, who was acting as a spokeswoman for the complainants.

Sarah Duterte has not replied to the allegations.

Analysts have said that an impeachment move could be politically costly for the Philippines, which votes next year for thousands of candidates in races ranging from local offices to the House and Senate.

The last time the country impeached a sitting president was in 2000, when Joseph Estrada was accused of massive graft and corruption. 

His trial in the Senate was aborted in January 2001 after his allies had voted against disclosing evidence against him, leading to a military-backed popular revolt that culminated in his removal from office. Pardoned, Estrada was released and later became mayor of Manila.

No vice president of the Philippines has been impeached.

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