10 Days to Respond: House Panel Officially Orders VP Sara Duterte to Answer Impeachment Complaints
The clock is ticking for Vice President Sara Duterte. The House Committee on Justice has officially served notice ordering her to file a verified answer to two impeachment complaints within 10 calendar days — or be considered to have waived her right and entered a general denial to all allegations against her.
The notice, dated March 4 and addressed to the Office of the Vice President, was served Thursday. Lawyer Michael Poa, speaking for Duterte's defense team, confirmed receipt but played it cool: "At this point, we see no need to issue any further comment," he said. Hindi pa raw sila mag-comment — classic legal poker face.
Four impeachment complaints were filed against Duterte last month. The first was set aside for violating the one-year ban on filing multiple impeachment cases against the same official. The second was voluntarily withdrawn by all 17 of its filers. That leaves two standing complaints — both zeroing in on the same core issue: confidential funds.
The third complaint, filed by a group of priests and other citizens, alleges that Duterte committed culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayed public trust through her handling of confidential funds at the OVP for 2022-2023 and at the Department of Education, which she led as secretary before resigning in 2024. The fourth complaint, filed by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera, echoes similar accusations of graft and corruption tied to the same funds.
Committee chairman Rep. Gerville Luistro of Batangas has clarified that the panel still needs to determine if there's sufficient ground to support the complaints before any hearing proper begins. But the fact that the complaints passed the substance test means this is no longer just political noise — it's a formal legal process moving forward. Abangan.
Source: The Manila Times
