Impeachment articles against Sara Duterte advance to House plenary
The impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte are moving to the next stage soon.
The committee report on the articles of impeachment is now before the plenary of the House of Representatives after it was referred by the House Committee on Rules on May 5.
The justice panel endorsed the articles, citing allegations of betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, and other high crimes. These include alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery, and an alleged assassination plot targeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, and Rep. Martin Romualdez.
House committee on justice chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro said that all House members are given until May 10 to assess the articles of impeachment ahead of the plenary vote on May 11.
A minimum of 106 out of 318 House members must support the measure for impeachment to move forward.
Once approved, the case will be elevated to the Senate for trial, with the House designating 11 lawmakers as prosecutors.
The House Committee on Justice kicked off its hearings on the impeachment complaints filed against Duterte on March 25 after declaring the third and fourth raps sufficient in grounds on March 18.
On March 4, the House panel deemed the third and fourth impeachment complaints, filed by Fr. Sballa et al. and Atty. Nathaniel Cabrera, respectively, against her sufficient in substance.
The third complaint, endorsed by ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, accused Duterte of culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, plunder and/or malversation, bribery, graft and corruption, and other high crimes.
The fourth one, endorsed by House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante, likewise cited violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes as grounds of impeachment.
The first complaint was set aside for violating the one-year bar rule, while the second was withdrawn as it's similar to the third rap.