Vice President Sara Duterte described the prospect of another impeachment complaint as “tiring,” saying it would only exhaust Filipinos as she prepares for a potential new attempt to remove her from office.
In a chance interview in Davao City, Duterte said her legal team has already anticipated the next complaint, which she expects could be filed by February or once the one-year ban on filing impeachment complaints lapses.
“This impeachment is just tiring, especially to our fellow Filipinos,” she said in Filipino.
Duterte has faced four impeachment complaints before the House justice committee since late last year, mostly alleging misuse of her P612.5 million confidential funds granted in 2023 for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd), where she served as secretary for nearly two years.
The fourth complaint, filed by House lawmakers, gathered the required two-thirds support to impeach a sitting official. Although it was transmitted to the Senate as early as February, the Senate leadership under then-President Francis Escudero did not convene an impeachment court, despite mounting public pressure to hold a trial.
Lawyers supporting the Duterte family brought petitions before the Supreme Court, which ruled that the complaint violated the one-year bar rule and that Duterte was not afforded due process. The Senate subsequently archived the articles, leading to public criticism of senators who opposed the trial.
Despite the complaints, Duterte emphasized that the allegations lacked evidence. “We can see that those who are complaining have no evidence to show at all. [The impeachment is] totally for threats and harassments only,” she said.
The complaints cited documents reviewed by the House committee on good government and public accountability, which investigated the use of her confidential funds. Public scrutiny focused on why the OVP and DepEd were allocated such funds despite having no national security mandate.
The fourth complaint also referenced her threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-Speaker Martin Romualdez, stemming from a virtual press conference last year where she criticized the administration and lawmakers over the detention of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, for allegedly not cooperating with the House investigation.
