THE House of Representatives will be doing Vice President Sara Duterte a favor if it fails to dispose of the impeachment complaint filed last Monday by civil society groups.
This is because Vice President Sara Duterte will be insulated from future impeachment complaints for one whole year, Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II said yesterday.
The Constitution provides that “no impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.”
This, as another impeachment complaint is expected to be filed today against the Vice President over allegations of corruption and misuse of confidential funds, despite President Marcos Jr’s statement last week that he is against the filing of impeachment complaints against Durete as it would “tie down the House” and not help Filipinos.
Malacañang yesterday distanced itself from the impeachment complaint filed Monday.
“The Office of the President has nothing to do with it. The President’s earlier statement on the matter is unambiguous,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.
In an ambush interview, Bersamin said, “The President has been very clear about his position in this. So, any suggestion that that is political, that it was instigated by our side, no. That is never true,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
He also said Malacañang would just let the impeachment process “flow,” adding it would just be a distraction at this time when government should be focusing on addressing the needs of the Filipinos.
1-YEAR BAN
Gonzales said the complainants will have to wait for another year before they can file another complaint against the Vice President in case the 19th Congress fails to finish the impeachment process because of lack of material time.
“They can file again after the one-year ban but that will be in the 20th Congress,” said Gonzales, who was majority leader when the House impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011 under the Aquino administration.
Gonzales also cited the Supreme Court’s ruling that an impeachment complaint is deemed initiated once the House plenary refers the complaint or consolidated complaints to the Committee on Justice.
“The ruling of the Supreme Court was from the time the impeachment complaint is referred to the Committee on Justice, the one year ban attaches,” said the veteran lawyer-lawmaker.
While it is pressed for time, the House has the option to expedite the process by gathering the signatures of one-third of the members of the House, which would allow it to automatically send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.
NOT A PRIORITY
Administration lawmakers said that for now, impeaching Duterte is not a House priority as President Marcos Jr. has urged the chamber to refrain from impeaching the Vice President even after their political alliance has been shattered.
Reps. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog) and Geradline Roman (PL, Bataan), in a joint press conference, said impeachment is not priority of the supermajority in the House as the focus remains on supporting President Marcos Jr.’s national development agenda.
Acidre said that while House leadership has yet to give “definite guidance on the matter,” House members are “ready to undertake our constitutionally bound duty to tackle the impeachment complaint.”
The President earlier admitted having asked lawmakers not to impeach Duterte, saying pursuing the political process at this time “is not important” as it would not improve the people’s lives.
Sources said the House leadership also does not want impeachment proceedings because it will only be used by the Vice President for propaganda, by making it appear that Congress is ganging up on her to draw public sympathy.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua earlier said it would be difficult to muster the needed number to impeach the Vice President now that the President has told lawmakers that he is personally against it.
Chua’s panel has been looking into the Vice President’s alleged misuse of hundreds of millions of public funds in both the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she was still concurrent education secretary, one of the many violations cited by complainants.
TIME CONSTRAINTS
Chua also acknowledged that time constraints may prevent the House from finishing the impeachment process t because of the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections which will begin in February.
The impeachment complaint filed Monday by civil society groups led by the Akbayan party-list group accuses the Vice President of culpable violation of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes for various acts.
Rep. Percival Cendaña (PL, Akbayan), the endorser of the complaint, has said their group filed it despite the lack of time for Congress to tackle the complaint because the House leadership can always find a way to have it tackled if it decides to.
The complaint expected today will be filed by around 50 representatives from various progressive organizations and concerned citizens, together with the militant Makabayan bloc, over allegations of corruption and misuse of confidential funds.
The House only has eight session days left before it goes on a Christmas break on December 18, its last day of session for the year, because it only holds sessions thrice a week.
Congress will resume session on January 13 but will again go on recess on February 7, just four days before candidates for the Senate and the party-list seats will be allowed to officially campaign.
Candidates for local positions will be allowed to start campaigning on March 28. The campaign period will end on May 10.
Sessions are adjourned between February 8 to June 1 and will resume on June 2. It will adjourn sine die on June 14.
The Constitution states that a verified complaint for impeachment, as endorsed by a member of the House, shall be included in the order of business within 10 session days, and referred to the proper committee within three session days thereafter.
“The Committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its members, shall submit its report to the House within 60 session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within 10 session days from receipt thereof,” it said.
The vote of at least one-third of all members of the House of Representatives is needed to approve the Articles of Impeachment and transmit the complaint to the Senate, assuming it is approved and referred to it by the House Committee on Justice which will vote to determine if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance.
LOOK WHO’S TALKING
Acidre laughed off Duterte’s previous statement that impeaching her will just be a waste of taxpayers’ money, saying she is not exactly the right person to talk about austerity.
“If we’re talking about wasting funds, maybe the Vice President is not the right person to correct someone’s misuse of funds, we are not the ones who spent P125 million in eight days or nine days,” he said in Filipino.
Acidre was referring to the Office of the Vice President’s P125 million in confidential funds in 2022, which is the subject of the House investigation.
Roman said that while the impeachment complaint is not a priority for now, the House has choice but to tackle it t because the House is constitutionally mandated to hear it before deciding to either dismiss it or send it to the Senate for trial.
Roman, however, acknowledged that time constraints will hinder the House. “ If we start by January, we take a break by February and resume around May, so when will we do it? But we have no choice but to do the job of Congress,” Roman said.
‘DON’T BE DISTRACTED’
Senate President Francis Escudero asked his colleagues not be distracted with the impeachment complaint as they have the responsibility to craft measures to address the people’s needs.
“Experience has shown that impeachment proceedings are inherently divisive and have the potential to polarize the government and the public. However, we must not allow this to detract from the pressing legislative work that lies ahead. We have a duty to enact laws that respond to the needs of our people, address urgent national concerns, and strengthen our republic,” Escudero said in a statement.
While impeachment is a political exercise, Escudero said, senators should “approach it with impartiality and objectivity” as expected of them.
“We must not let politics negate the strides we made in improving our economy and governance. We may have different political affiliations and views but as public servants, we must preserve our unity of purpose as this is essential to sustain the gains we have achieved and to ensure that no Filipino is left behind,” he added. – With Joelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
