It's Official: House Panel Says Sara Duterte Impeachment Complaints Have Enough Substance to Move Forward
The House Committee on Justice voted 54-1 on Wednesday, March 4, to declare two impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte as "sufficient in substance" — paving the way for the next stage of what could be one of the most significant political battles in recent Philippine history.
The lone dissenting vote came from Rep. Bong Suntay of Quezon City, who earlier tried to argue that one of the allegations — Duterte's public threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — lacked proof of any action being carried out. But other lawmakers quickly shut down that argument.
Of the four impeachment complaints originally filed, two remain active — one by Rev. Fr. Joel Saballa and another by lawyer Nathaniel Cabrera. The first complaint by the Makabayan bloc was dismissed for being filed before the constitutional one-year bar expired, while the second by Rep. Leila de Lima and Rep. Percival Cendaña was voluntarily withdrawn to give way to the Saballa complaint, which is considered the more substantial filing.
During the hearing, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro raised a jurisdiction issue, arguing that many allegations stemmed from Duterte's tenure as Education Secretary, not as VP. Committee chair Rep. Joel Chua of Manila countered that Duterte's Cabinet appointment was tied directly to her vice presidential position — she didn't even need Commission on Appointments confirmation. Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno warned that Rodriguez's argument would essentially allow Duterte to dodge accountability by separating her two roles.
VP Duterte has been given 10 days to respond to the complaints as proceedings move to the pleadings stage. Her defense team has said it will review the actions taken by the House. This came just two days after the committee found the complaints sufficient in form — meaning the impeachment train is now moving fast and shows no signs of slowing down.
Source: Philstar.com
